Want to visit the ISS? Now you can. NASA has announced it is opening the station up to commercial activities, which includes “private astronaut missions”: for $35,000 a night, civilians can stay at the ISS for up to 30 days. This is quite a change from the agency’s previous position of banning commercial use and for-profit activity.
Nasa said that private commercial entities would be responsible for determining crew composition and ensuring that the private astronauts meet the medical and training requirements for spaceflight. The two companies hired by Nasa are Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which will use its Dragon capsule, and Boeing, which is building a spacecraft called the Starliner.