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Russia unveils plans for world’s first tourist spacecraft.

I suppose one should take this with a grain of salt. After all, the Russians also promised in the past year to save Mir, to launch a new Mir II station, and to launch a commercial/tourist space station.

On the other hand, if they do manage to get this spacecraft off the ground, it will be a big boost to the space tourism industry. Those now willing to pay $20M+ to occupy a rare empty seat on a Soyuz ferry mission may well decide to content themselves with an X-15-like exoatmospheric ride — a service which, unlike ISS ferry flights, need not be strictly limited in availability and would be much less expensive. If that happens, it’s only a matter of time before the customers begin to demand more: higher altitudes, trajectories with longer free-fall periods, etc. By building a market for sending humans into space, this or a similar venture could prove to be the key to opening space for everyone — building capability through a gradual process, growing organically from consumer demand, rather than the top-down, cost-is-no-object approach taken to-date.