Space station excursions for sale in 2013

Space Adventures Ltd. plans to sell private citizens three trips to the International Space Station, starting in 2013, the Virginia-based company says.

It has cut a deal with the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation to offer the seats on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

The flights will last about 10 days.

A company news release did not mention the cost, but Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, who visited the space station in 2009 for eight days, paid $35 million US.

Space Adventures organizes flights for private space travellers, ranging from zero gravity flights in planes to the space station excursion.

The new space station flights are possible because of an increase in the number of Soyuz spacecraft to five from four, the company said.

Laliberté said his flight was "worth every penny and more." He said he used it to raise awareness about worldwide water problems.

"Since Guy Laliberté's mission, there has been an increase of interest by private individuals, organizations and commercial entities seeking ways to access the space station," said Eric Anderson, the Space Adventures chair.

The company has organized eight flights to the space station over a decade.