Russia Claims to be Back in the Space Tourism Biz

[166p1]

https://phys.org/news/2021-12-russia-ready-space-tourism-supremacy.html

After a decade-long hiatus, Russia is relaunching an ambitious
bid for dominion over the world's budding space tourism industry,
jostling with zealous billionaires, the United States, and
rising China.

Russia flaunted its comeback this month dispatching two
cosmic adventurers—Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and
his assistant—to the International Space Station (ISS) in
its first launch of tourists in 12 years.

Buoyed by the success, firebrand space chief Dmitry Rogozin
talked up Russia's next steps to supremacy: a special module
at the ISS for Russia's visitors, spacewalks outside the
station, and—down the line—trips around the moon.

. . .

Of course, being Russia, this whole thing could be thrown
in the trash next week.

Competing with a State-sponsored program would initially
seem difficult, but everybody says that riding in a Soyuz
capsule is like being packed into a sardine can - they
are quite small. By comparison, Musk's capsules are quite
roomy and attractive - and you don't have to go to Russia
to get a ride. Eventually he will get "Starship" going,
and that's BIG and kinda Buck Rodgers. Visit the moon in
relative luxury.

Now so far Musk has been focused on commercial/NASA flights,
but that could change. Bezos keeps working on his own next-gen
rocket too and he is very keen on 'tourism'. Before their
failed test (and airliner scandal) Boeing DID seem intent on
using Atlas-5 for crewed missions - and tourists might buy
rides as well. I don't think the Boeing problem had much
to do with the capsule per-se, more a guidance issue.

And what of the euros ? May be that Ariane generates too many
G's to be tourist-friendly, but I'd have to look that up. In
terms of cargo capacity though you could put a very respectable
capsule onto it. In that dimension it's right in the same league
as Falcon-9.