“Space Hero will provide an opportunity for anyone from any background to become the first globally elected space explorer to take part in an International Space Station mission,” the press release said.
The company also revealed that it is working with renowned production company, Progate, which is working on another unencrypted competition series, such as the “swap” of the food network. Propagate’s founders, Ben Silverman and Howard Owens, have previously worked on shows that included “Office Fees,” “Ugly Betty,” and “Masterchef.”
Propagate did not respond to requests for additional comment.
Space Hero, led by Marty Pompadour, a News Corp executive, said it was working with Texas-based startup Axiom Space to coordinate the tour into orbit.
Axiom was founded by Michael Suffredini, who led NASA’s International Space Station program from 2005 to 2015. The company plans to work go-between for providers such as NASA, SpaceX and Boeing, and for anyone in the private sector. Interested in booking rides in space for tourism, recreation or other business purposes. Axiom also said it could provide individuals with all the training they need to prepare for the ISS trip.
NASA has pushed hard in recent years to take an interest in commercial activity on the International Space Station, a multibillion-dollar orbital laboratory that has hosted astronaut crews and hundreds of scientific experiments over the past two decades.
Earlier this year, the head of the space agency, Jim Brydensta, announced that Tom Cruise was working with NASA on a plan to make a film about the ISS. Axiom will also handle training and coordination for that project.
Private citizens have visited the space station before: a company called Space Adventures previously planned eight trips to the International Space Station for the wealthiest passengers between 2001 and 2009 using the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
Allowing tourists and other private citizens to use the space station is part of NASA’s goal of commercializing outer space – via SpaceX or Boeing’s new spacecraft.
That effort began largely with NASA’s programs that assigned the task of transporting cargo and crew to the ISS. SpaceX and Northrop Grumman regularly fly cargo, and earlier this year, SpaceX became the first commercial company in history to fly NASA astronauts to the station. Boeing is also developing a spacecraft that could be ready for crew missions next year.
Under that program, NASA helped fund the development of the new spacecraft, but SpaceX and Boeing could operate their own vehicles and allow the sale of seats not practically occupied by astronauts – whether it be Tom Cruise or a winner in a reality show competition. .
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