Space tourists to make 1st spacewalk in history

"Earlier, in the period from 2001 to 2009, RSC Energia and Roscosmos successfully completed eight short-term commercial flights to the Russian segment of the ISS on Soyuz spacecraft under contracts with Space Adventures Inc".

Energia has inked a contract with Space Adventures, which promises to take two space tourists to the International Space Station that year.

The candidate will, of course, be required to complete specialized training and simulations in preparation for the excursion, now scheduled for 2023. While they're up there, one of the tourists will perform a spacewalk with an experienced Russian cosmonaut - a first for any private citizen visiting the ISS.

Space Adventures has called tenders for potential space travelers to become "the first private citizen to walk in space" on its website, meaning that though the contracts may already have been sealed, the tourists have not yet been chosen.

Russia's Energia space corporation said Thursday it will take the first tourist on a space walk in 2023, under the terms of a new contract with a United States partner.

"We appreciate the chance to celebrate two decades of orbital space tourism with our Russian partners by opening up another first-ever experience", Anderson said in a statement. When NASA's Space Shuttle retired in 2011, the Soyuz became the only means of getting people to the ISS, so priority was given to NASA astronauts and worldwide partners involved in the global Space Station program.

The Russian announcement comes after Roscosmos lost its nine-year monopoly on ferrying crew to the International Space Station when Space Exploration Technologies Corp. sent two USA astronauts into orbit last month.

SpaceX is also competing with Roscosmos for space tourism business. Together, RSC Energia and Space Adventures have crowned seven space tourists, including Dennis Tito (2001), Greg Olsen (2006), Anyusha Ansari (2006), Richard Garriott (2008), and Charles Simoni (2007 and 2009) from the US.