Over the past decade, space tourism from fiction has become a reality. The first space commercial tourist who independently paid for his journey to the ISS in 2001 was Denis Tito, an American. He flew in the Soyuz spacecraft.

His journey can be considered the beginning of the era of space tourism. The second was a businessman from South Africa, Mark Shuttleworth, who flew into space in 2002. After it, two more Americans flew tourists: Gregory Olsen and Anoushe Ansari. All returned home safely.

In the world there are a sufficient number of wealthy people who want to go into space and visit the space station. Therefore, today space tourism is gaining popularity in many countries around the world. People buy tickets in advance, waiting for their turn.

Currently, there is a rapid formation of demand for space tourism services. In the light of the prospects associated with the development of space tourism, there is a problem of the legal status of space travelers.

In Russia, among the fundamental legal acts in the field of space activity is the Law of the Russian Federation “On Space Activity” of August 20, 1993 No. 5663-1, as well as a number of international agreements of which the Russian Federation is a party. In December 2004, the President of the United States signed a law legalizing the use of space objects that are privately owned for space flights, and establishing a previously existing legal gap for legal relations in this area in the United States.

Space tourism as an activity

The Law does not explicitly state the use of outer space for tourism purposes, however, the Law allows for this possibility (which has already been successfully implemented in practice several times). So, according to claim 1. Article 2 of the Law to the main directions of space activity space tourism can be attributed to "other activities carried out with the help of space technology"

According to Article 8 of the Law, the Federal Space Program of Russia must be developed "with due regard for the interests of consumers of space technology and space technologies."

The legal status of space flight participants

According to the “Principles relating to the processes and criteria for selecting, assigning, training and certifying members of the ISS core crews and visiting expeditions” (hereinafter referred to as the “Principles”), signed by all ISS participants, including the Russian Federation, there are two categories of crew members: professional astronauts (cosmonauts) and space flight participants.

Space flight participants are individuals selected for the flight (“sponsored”) by one or more space agencies – partners in the ISS program to carry out commercial, scientific and other programs, as well as representatives of space agencies that are not ISS partners, engineers, scientists , teachers, journalists, cameramen or tourists.

Space flight participants may have the status of a visiting scientist, a commercial user, or a tourist. They can not be given the task of assembling the ISS, its operation or maintenance.

Depending on the professional capabilities of the tourist, his degree of participation in the crew’s life is negotiated separately.

Art. 27 of the Law defines the limits of the legal regime for foreign organizations and citizens engaged in space activities under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation, the limits of the legal regime granted by the relevant state to organizations and citizens of the Russian Federation.

According to paragraph 5 of Art. 20 of the Law, citizens of foreign states undergoing training for space flight in the Russian Federation or participating in a flight at a manned space object of the Russian Federation are obliged to comply with the legislation of the Russian Federation, unless otherwise provided by international treaties of the Russian Federation.

Space Tourism Providers

Currently, space companies are engaged in or are preparing to carry out this activity by the following companies:

1. Blue Origin is a private aerospace company founded by creator of the Amazon network by multi-billionaire Jeffrey Bezos in 2000. The main activities: the provision of suborbital space tourism services and the delivery of cargo to near-earth orbit - Virgin Orbit. Develops reusable rockets for delivering cargo and people into space New Glenn.

Blue Origin's New Shepard spaceship starts vertically - this is an accelerator rocket with a capsule at the top, in which there are people and equipment. Having flown to a height of 100 km, the capsule with tourists is separated, and the accelerator swoops down, landing just like it started. A 15-cubic meter capsule with a capacity of 6 people “freezes” for a few minutes allowing tourists to enjoy weightlessness, views of the Earth and endless expanses of space through meter portholes, which Blue Origin calls the largest windows in space, their exact size is 42.7 by 28.6 inches, which is 108 by 72 cm. Before the capsule begins to decline, a beep will warn passengers that it is time to return to their seats and fasten their seat belts. During the descent, tourists will experience an overload force in 3G until the parachutes unfold and the lower engines slow down for a smooth and soft landing on the ground, within a radius of several kilometers from the launch site, where the rocket had successfully landed;

2. Virgin Galactic

3. Roscosmos and Space Adventures carry out orbital flights and offer their customers a seven- or fourteen-day stay on the International Space Station. The unforgettable feelings that only a few hundred people could experience for themselves cost about 35-45 million dollars, if a space tourist is planned to go into outer space, another 45-55 million dollars are needed.

The flight to the ISS takes about a day, the same amount is required for return. In orbit, the tourist spends, as a rule, 8 days.

After completing the course of the PFST, candidate certification tests are conducted.

After the final medical examination, the crew, 14 days before the start, flies to Baikonur for final preparation for the flight;

4. Companies World View (USA) and Zero2Infinity (Spain) plan to send people to fly in capsules in balloons to an altitude of 30-40 kilometers. Flight cost is $ 75,000 and $ 116,000;

5. The Ukrainian aerospace startup Strato Ukraine plans to launch the stratospheric tourists in Europe by 2025, the estimated cost of the flight will be about $ 70,000.

Currently, with the growing demand for space tourism, we are witnessing the active formation of a market for proposals for orbital and suborbital flights. Most likely, suborbital flights will develop more actively, because of the affordable prices, less technically complex structures of aircraft.

The development of space tourism requires a number of legal clarifications: the status of space tourists, the applicability of the provisions of international treaties on space to space tourists, responsibilities, rights and obligations, certification, civil and criminal jurisdiction, export of information obtained during experiments, re-export of equipment.

The legal status of space tourists needs serious study in various aspects. Today, “white spots” in law remain issues related to the division of responsibility between the tourist, the tour operator and the performer of the relevant service, guaranteeing the safety of space tourists, selection criteria, features of pre-flight training, and the like. These issues also extend to a wider context related to the place and role of the state in ensuring such activities and monitoring their implementation of the regulation of the use of outer space.