Russia's mostly privatized space agency, Energia, like a good capitalist company, wants to make money by carrying a private paying passenger to the International Space Station. NASA, the U.S. government's space agency, opposes this procapitalist venture.
How things have changed. It used to be that the United States and the Soviet Union debated the merits of their respective economic systems, with the former favoring free markets and the latter liking government-owned and operated enterprises.
he passenger, American Dennis Tito, did not select the ISS as his destination of choice. Facing difficult economic adjustments, Energia had decided to scuttle its Mir space station and accept NASA's invitation to become an ISS partner. Fortunately, in December 1999 MirCorp, a company 40-percent owned by private Western investors and 60-percent owned by Energia, was formed to make Mir financially self-supporting. To that end, MirCorp accepted Tito's offer of a reported $20 million for a flight to Mir. Unfortunately, NASA helped block MirCorp's efforts and in the end the Russians could not keep the station in orbit. The 15-year-old station was allowed to burn up in the atmosphere.