SpaceX announces partnership to send 4 tourists into deep orbit

WASHINGTON: SpaceX announced a new partnership Monday to send four tourists deeper into orbit than any private citizen in history has gone, without disclosing the date or price tag.

The company signed a deal with Space Adventures, which is based in Washington and has served as an intermediary to send eight space tourists to the International Space Station via Russian Soyuz rockets.

The first of these was Dennis Tito, who paid $20 million for an eight hour stay on the ISS back in 2001. The last to go was Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, in 2009.

The tourists would be carried on SpaceX´s Crew Dragon capsule, which was developed to transport NASA astronauts and is due to make its first crewed flight in the coming months. The tourism flights won´t go to the ISS, according to a statement by SpaceX, founded by billionaire Elon Musk.

"This historic mission will forge a path to making spaceflight possible for all people who dream of it, and we are pleased to work with the Space Adventures´ team on the mission," said Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX.