Can you be an astronaut or cosmonaut? Prove it in Space Trainings!

Space has always been attracting us as something borderless and mysterious. While gazing at the stars one can’t help but admire its beauty. While being kids, many of us dreamt to be astronauts or cosmonauts.

But for most of us space travel is impossible – due to the health or the fact that we chose less romantic profession. But is there anything we can do now to perform – at least for a short moment – our child dreams? And the answer is – yes!

Although astronaut or cosmonaut trainings is classified, now ordinary travelers have opportunity to peak their training. In Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) which is a training facility for ISS crews in Russia, tourists can take part in real cosmonaut practices! These are the simulators that you can try in GCTC:

Vykhod-2. The space environment differs drastically from the Earth’s. This simulator allows to train an exit to the open space. You will also learn how to operate your “Orlan-TMA” space suit.

Soyuz space vessel simulator. This is a real spaceship, almost identical to one which delivers astronauts and cosmonauts to International Space Station. Souyz training simulator imitate vessel’s moving, docking, undocking, landing and communication with the space station.

Don-Soyuz simulator. The simulator’s aim is to practice emergency exit from the ISS and to practice flight control.

TSf-7 Centrifuge simulator will test your organismon endurance. During the space travel all objects and especially people suffer overloads from low to high. The centrifuge will train your vestibular apparatus. During the training, a group of skilled medics will monitor your condition and cease training immediately in you feel dizzy.

Training in a Sokol space suit. Sokol is a Russian space suit designed for space station crews. The space suit also protects cosmonaut or astronaut’s lives in case of depressurization of the Soyuz vessel.

Space food simulator. Cooking and eating in conditions of zero gravity could be a real problem for a person not trained for this. Space food simulator will teach you how to heat and stuff you food. And, of course, you will get an opportunity to taste space food!

If you are interested in Space Trainings please send us an email on jet@tour-space.com with a request. 

Spend your Space holidays in Baikonur spaceport

If you are interested in cosmonautics and aerospace history and dreamed to do some non-traditional tour in this December, you will have an excellent opportunity to visit Baikonur spaceport from the 13th to 18th of December 2017.

Now the spaceport is the only one place from which cosmonauts and astronauts make it to the International Space Station (ISS). Onboard the “Souyz-SM” rocket launcher they go up to the ISS to replenish members of the orbital international crew, that stays on duty all the time. There are 6 crew members that stay on duty onboard the ISS: two Russian cosmonauts, two American astronauts and two astronauts from other countries.

Not only manned space launches are conducted now from the Baikonur spaceport. Supplies, materials and equipment for the ISS are delivered from the Progress and Proton rockets. The launching pad of the latter is located on the Baikonur spaceport.

During the tour you will visit “Proton” and “Souyz-SM” launching sites, which were for authorized personnel only just a several years ago. One of them is a so called “Gagarin launch” – the very launching site from which “Vostok” space vessel with Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, set off to the orbit.

You also might be interested in a tour over the unique museum on the territory of the Baikonur spaceport, which highlights the history of Russian space exploration programs from 1950-ies to the present day. On the backyard of the museum you will see special exhibits such as Buran space vessel. Buran is an orbital space vessel, which primal aim was to put satellites into the orbit, to conduct experiments and test new types of weapons. It was developed in 1984 as some sort of “Soviet respond to the USS shuttle program. But at the same time it has crucial differences. First of all, Buran space vessel was equipped with an automated landing system and could do a reserve lap before landing.

But what’s most important – you will be able to see one of the world’s most tremendous events – launch of the “Souyz-MS” space rocket with 55-th ISS crew onboard, which is scheduled on 17th of December!

Baikonur tour could be interested not only to fans of cosmonautics. If you are tired of ”traditional” and ordinary seaside touristic tours, Baikonur tour could be a cool distraction from an office life.

If you are interested in the tour, please send us a request on jet@tour-space.com.

Experience real Zero Gravity just like a real cosmonaut!

Cosmonaut profession is probably the most romantic as much as dangerous and difficult. Becoming a cosmonaut or astronaut is not that easy – it takes years to master new skills and information and to meet requirements. In September we wrote about a unique place which astronauts and cosmonauts pass their trainings to be ready to proceed to the ISS - Star City, which could be called a “University for cosmonauts”.

During a training course which can last up to several years a candidate has to practice certain drills. One of such is a Zero Gravity flight – an obligatory element of cosmonaut training. During the first stage of a drill candidates get used to weightlessness, learn how to behave themselves in a complete absence of weight, how to enter and leave a state of Zero Gravity without harm to their body. On the second stage they learn to perform some basic moves and operations in weightlessness and to test equipment.

If you ever dreamt to become a cosmonaut or astronaut, you now have unique opportunity to join Zero Gravity flight as it is available not only for successful candidates but also to ordinary tourists! You may wonder where, apart from the space itself, one can train like a real cosmonaut? The answer will amaze you: these drills are conducted on Earth, in the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training center in Star City, which is not far from Moscow. This place is the only one in Russia, where you can participate in real cosmonaut training in Zero Gravity.

The second question you may wonder is “How is this possible?”. The answer may also surprise you because of its simplicity. Weightlessness is simulated onboard a Russian laboratory plane IL-76 MDK, designed in 1988 especially for drills in Zero Gravity. The IL-76 MDK takes off, climbs to a “regular” altitude of 6,5 kilometers then starts to rise from 6,5 to 9,5 kilometers. When the aircraft reaches this altitude, it immediately begins to descend down, back to 6,5 kilometers. At the moment when a plane is about to come close to the 9,5 altitude and some time after it began its descend, Zero Gravity mode turns on aboard IL-76 plane.

Participants of the Zero G flight spend from 25 to 28 seconds in a complete weightlessness. During the whole flight which lasts for 1,5 hours, overall time when Zero Gravity mode is on estimates almost 5 minutes.

During the flight you can “test” weightlessness however you want: walk or stand still on the ceiling, spin around, fly all through the salon of the Il-76 plane or do the thing: spill a water while in Zero Gravity and try to drink it! An IL-76 aircraft is covered with a special soft material, so you won’t get hurt during your flight. You can check how others enjoyed their Zero G flight.

Our closest flight is scheduled on 21-22nd of November. To book a Zero Gravity flight, please contact us via email: jet@tour-space.com or adventure@tour-space.com.

The Star City: a university for cosmonauts

“How to become a cosmonaut?” – this request is very popular in Google search site. But still, you can hardly find a decent answer in the Internet space. During the tour to the Star City where Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) is located, you will learn how to become a cosmonaut and join the space program!

Now the only country that delivers space crews to the International Space station (ISS) is Russia, Cosmonauts and astronauts should go through a special training course in GCTC, located 25 kilometers from Moscow. The cosmonaut (astronaut) training is a very long and complicated process. It usually takes from 8 to 10 years to raise a fully educated and skilled specialist which is able to deal with space equipment and go to the Earth orbit. A decade ago only military pilot, medic or space engineer could apply a request for the space program. Now the requirement are not that strict, and almost everyone with a higher education connected with engineering, aviation and medicine can form an apply and forward it to the GCTC.

During the tour you will see actual training equipment, simulators and drill programs. The simulators in the GCTC are all unique: they are in fact full scale space vessels that are now floating to around the Earth attached to the ISS. Simulators and an equipment compared to the real one is identical. It can simulate both the “routine” flying and docking process and all kinds of emergency situation: wobbling, hardware malfunctions, connection problems, and even the fire!

If you are very much into a space field and you plan to travel via Russia, this trip is a “100% must” thing that you should do while you are in Moscow. To book a tour please send us a request to our email: jet@tour-space.com, containing a date of your desired tour and an amount of attenders. Please remember that you should form your request at leat 45 days before the tour date!

Star City tour could be only an introducing step into the cosmonautics field. Don’t miss our special tours and adventures, like Real Cosmonaut Training, Zero G Gravity flight and a Trip to Baikonur cosmodrome!

Visiting an incredible manned spacecraft launch

On the 13^th of September at 3:25 PM a slender shining rocket with a fancy spire on the top soared up in the night sky. Its mighty engines digested tons of fuels in just few dozen seconds, leaving a colorful trail behind the rocket. The trail was so bright that it lighted up an area kilometers far from the launching pad. It lasted only for several seconds while the rocket was still visible high in the sky. A few moments later the giant rocket turned into a small spark and within a couple of minutes one could not distinguish it from plentiful stars studding the Kazakhstan sky. The humanity became one more step closer to the space age.

This was the tiniest episode of the whole Baikonur trip that is arranged by our company. Baikonur is by today the biggest spaceport located in the northwest of Kazakhstan – ex-Soviet republic declared it independence in 1990. It was built amidst the vast and plain prairie spread out in the northern Kazakhstan by the beginning of May 1957. The spaceport was built within 9 months.

Now the Baikonur spaceport is also an only place from where international astronauts and Russian cosmonauts reach the International Space Station. But is not only because of this Baikonur became so popular: tourists all over the world gather there to see manned spaceship launches. Baikonur spaceport (cosmodrome in Russian) is the place in the world where ordinary tourists can see manned and cargo spaceship launch, see real launching pads, visit once secret bunkers and control rooms, learn a lot of information about the space exploration.

Even if you are not new to the cosmonautics field, during our tour you will learn a lot of unique facts and interesting stories. For example, you will learn that “Orlan” spacesuit as well as spaceship’s armchairs are crafted individually for every cosmonaut and astronaut. You will see a transportation and verticalization of the manned Souyz rocket. You will be able to take photos and even have a brief talk with a nowadays heroes – reserve space crew for the ISS!

The next launch is scheduled on 17^th of December – hurry up and contact us to get places within a group!

Mig-29 flight date: when Your Dream Come True

So the very day when your dream come true has finally come! Clearances are set up and your heart skips a beat in anticipation of a MiG-29 flight.

So at 9.00-9.30 you will be greeted by representative of our company in the lobby of the hotel where you stayed in. You will be then taken to the “Sokol” aircraft plant which provides airfield and equipment for touristic flights. While going to the plant you will see a lot of Nizhny Novgorod’s sightseeings, so you definitely won’t be bored!

9.30 - 9:45 – You arrive to “Sokol” plant. “Sokol” is a state-owned enterprise which security is very tight. So please take international passport with you. Don’t please forget that any kind of recording equipment is prohibited on the territory of the plant.

9:45 - 10:15 – transfer to the airfield. You will be acquainted with your pilot, discuss your flight program and ask questioned whatever may concern you.

10:15 – 10:30 – medical checkup. Attending physician will check your pressure to make sure you are okay,

10:30 - 10:45 – equipment briefing. You can try on pressure-compensating suit, necessary for flights, and learn how to use oxygen mask and helmet communication systems.

11:15 – 11:45 – you will proceed to the landing field where you will find your fighter that is going to lift you right in the Stratosphere! Your pilot will tell you about Mig-29 fighter’s key features, show how to use your communication link and read fighter’s dashboard.

12:00 – So, here you go! Canopy locks up, engines starts and the fighter takes off… The flight you were dreaming begins!

13:00 – 13:15 – landing. After the flight you can refresh in a shower and change clothes. A couple of minutes later you will be handled a certificate about your flight. Your flight type, date and time will be recorded. Your pilot will sign it up. Now no one will dare to doubt that you have seen Earth’s curvature from 18 kms high in the Stratosphere!

13:15 -14:00 – a tour to a unique Sokol plant museum. It is located on the plant’s territory and ordinary tourists are not allowed visit the museum. You will be one of few who are able to attend it, while our guides will tell you about “Sokol” history and warplanes that the plant was producing: MiG-15, MiG-21, MiG-39 and, of course, MiG-29.

14:00 – 14:30 – departure from a plant’s territory.

So this is how your flight day will look like! If you want to book a MiG-29 flight, please proceed to our site and contact us by email or phone.

We will be looking forward to seeing you on our adventures!

A tour to a spacecraft launch

Somewhere in Kazakhstan among the almost deserted and unwelcoming land one of the largest spaceports spread out on many miles across. And not only it, but a whole town was founded on a land, previously not inhabited. Yes, you are right: we are talking about Baikonur! Some time ago we already posted some a story about Baikonur spaceport, claiming that a tour there could become one of the most unforgettable tours you ever had.

Manned launches happen not so often – only several times a year, and most of them are usually scheduled on summer time. Although, a space rocket launch has always been a very stressful process for all involved staff, this time everything went safe and clear. On 26^th of July installation of a Russian spacecraft “Souyz-MC-05” was carried out just as planned. Tourists who booked our Baikonur tour accompanied its transportation to a processing facility then they visited “Proton” and Saturn Launching facilities, visit launching site num. 1, from which Yuri Gagarin, a First Man in Space, began his space journey! They had a unique tour to International Space school, walk through a memorable Alley of the Cosmonauts, planted by Russian/Soviet cosmonauts and astronauts from all over the world. And finally, they had a unique opportunity to see off 52^nd international crew before their departure to ISS!

At 18:41 on 28^th of July a Russian spaceship “Souyz-MC-05” successfully launched from a Baikonur spaceport. The crew of the spaceship supplemented a current crew of the International Space Station – USA astronauts Peggy Wilson and Jack Fisher and a Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin. This time a rocket carrier delivered Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli, NASA astronaut Randolph Bresnik and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy to an ISS. They are the prime crew of the 53^rd expedition. Nespoli, Bresnik and Ryzanskiy are not new to the space: for Nespoli it is this 3^rd flight, while Bresnik and Ryaznskiy have their 2^nd visit to ISS.

If you didn't join this trip, do not be upset! The next manned launch is scheduled on 13th of September. Do not miss your chance to see spacecraft launch by yourself!