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You do not have to be an astronaut to visit the International Space Station, NASA said Friday.
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But be prepared to pay … a lot.
NASA allows ordinary citizens to stay up to 30 days on the ISS as early as 2020, the agency said Friday.
"The agency can accommodate up to two short-duration private astronaut missions per year on the International Space Station, funded by private funds and dedicated commercial flights," and will use spacecraft developed with NASA's Commercial Crew Program, NASA announced in a press release on Friday.
NASA will not do the flights. The government agency will call on private companies, such as Boeing and SpaceX's Elon Musk, to transport astronauts to deep pockets. Although the actual price of travel remains unknown, NASA will charge about $ 35,000 per night to companies that transport them to the space station.
"NASA realizes that we need help," said Bill Gerstenmaier, one of NASA's leading space exploration officials, during a press conference held on Friday, according to Quartz. "We can not do this alone. We are looking to the US private sector to see if you can push the economic frontier back into space. "
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