It's hard to believe with the amount of people in the world that would jump on a rocket in a heartbeat even for a suborbital ride, that Russia of all places cant find enough willing to be a part.of it all.
Perhaps the biggest problem, however, is money. Salaries for "non-flying cosmonauts" can be as low as £300 a month.
I guess maybe they figure, why do it the hard way if you can become a millionare and then buy your way into space?
astrobrian - 30/7/2006 5:36 PM
It's hard to believe with the amount of people in the world that would jump on a rocket in a heartbeat even for a suborbital ride, that Russia of all places cant find enough willing to be a part.of it all.
Considering the present Russian economy, it may not so much the "willing" as much as the "able" for many folks who might otherwise be accepted.
"Nasa, its arch-rival, has 101 trained astronauts on standby."
I guess the author of this article doesn't know about the International Space Station...
That is very sad. The Russian people should be proud of their space program. A lot of Soviet youth are leaving the Eastern regions only to move closer to Moscow (and being a burden) when they should be pushing further east and helping look for oil.
