For as little as $100 million dollars, you too can fly around the moon in a chartered Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Space Adventures, headquartered in Vienna, VA, has contracts currently pending for these private lunar circumnavigation flights. If the deal progresses it will be the first private flight of it's kind. Two passengers and a pilot will fly a 'boomerang pattern', or free return trajectory, around the moon in a slightly modified Soyuz craft. According to Space Adventures the Soyuz craft was originally designed to fly around the moon. They believe that the craft does not really need any modifications to successfully make the flight. However, the Space Adventures people want to make the windows a little larger and improve the communications system.

Virginia's Space Adventures has gained a new client. Software billionaire Charles Simonyi will be taking a 10 day ride aboard the international space station. The Russian Soyuz TMA-10 will be taking aboard as part of their crew. Fluffy MSNBC coverage and industry back patting is available here.

It was a good year for the Earth's space programs. So good, that I jumped on the bandwagon. This article contains a lot of great information about the highlights of space exploration in 2006.

Here are a few of the big ones.
• Aceize is founded, 150 year business plan set in motion.
• Bigelow Aerospace launches their first inflatable module onboard a Russian SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missle
• Anousheh Ansari travels to space. The deal was brokers by Virginia Based 'Space Adventures'
• Several launch services promote international cooperation including; International Launch Services (a U.S.-Russian venture), and Europe’s Arianespace and United Launch Alliance.

It seems as though crazy tourism adventures may really have a future, and offer a possible hope for driving near earth space travel in the near future. It's amazing what rich people will spend their money on. I mean, I was excited about buying n electric baseboard heater yesterday (because I refuse to [sic, cannot] pay for heating oil anymore).