Gruzdev to be Russia's first space tourist

Moscow, Sep 4 (UNI) State Duma (lower house) deputy from the pro-Kremlin United Russia party and owner of the Sedmoi Kontinent supermarket chain, Vladimir Gruzdev, will become the first Russian space tourist.

Mr Gruzdev, 40, has signed a 20 million dollar contract to become the first Russian space tourist, Vedomosti newspaper reported.

He signed the contract in July, the report said, quoting a Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) source.

A source in Energia, which trains cosmonauts, confirmed to the newspaper that a United Russia deputy had undergone medical tests to determine his fitness but refused to identify him.

Mr Gruzdev was one of the several submariners who descended to the ocean floor at the North Pole last month to plant a Russian flag.

The Federal Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov told reporters on Friday that a young businessman and politician would become the first Russian space tourist, but declined to identify him.

''The future tourist is a serious man, businessman and policymaker, and he is young,'' Perminov said.

Mr Gruzdev plans to run for Duma on United Russia's ticket in December elections, Vedomosti said.

He will not take the flight before 2009, as the US Space Adventures has booked two nearest trips at Soyuz for foreign travelers.

Today's price of the space adventure stands at around 20 million dollars, but it is likely to increase to 30-40 million dollars in the near future.

A spacewalk is an option, and a tourist will have to pay another 15 million dollars for 90 minutes.

UNI