BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Space Adventures Ltd., the only firm in the world arranging private trips to the International Space Station (ISS), announced Friday it would offer an even rarer adventure: a stroll outside the space station for an extra $15 million.

    The Virginia-based firm has already sent three super-rich men into orbit for $20 million each. The new bonus offer, on top of the standard package, will enable those clients interested in the spacewalk option to spend up to 90 minutes outside of the space station with a cosmonaut accompanying them, said Eric Anderson, chief executive of Space Adventures Ltd.

    With the blessing of the Russian space agency, Space Adventures is preparing for the first spacewalking tourist to go into orbit in about a year or so, Anderson said. The trip would include a launch in a Soyuz capsule, an eight-day stay aboard the international space station and a 90-minute spacewalk in a Russian spacesuit. An extra month would be added to the six-month cosmonaut training.

    The plan still needs the approval of the other 15 partners in the international space station, including NASA, but Anderson said Russian space officials are confident they can get the OK.

    So far, there are no publicly announced takers. A Japanese entrepreneur, Daisuke Entomo, is preparing for a flight that is currently expected to take place in September. He might have been interested in a spacewalk, but there was not enough time left for the additional training and testing needed, according to the source with the firm.

    Most among the more than 150 people who have spacewalked say it offers great thrills. "I would recommend it to anyone," said Dan Bursch, a former astronaut who lived on the station in 2001 and 2002 and made two spacewalks in the Russian suits. And Thomas D. Jones, a NASA astronaut who flew on four space shuttle missions and made three spacewalks in 2001, said anyone who does this will be getting his money's worth.

    While many astronauts say they've been wowed by the experience of an spacewalk, a few, such as American Jerry Linenger, have confessed to terrible feelings of disorientation. In his memoir, "Off the Planet," Linenger described a "dreadful and persistent sensation" of falling. "White-knuckled, I gripped the handrail on the end of the pole, holding on for dear life."

    NASA, which has grudgingly accepted Russian-initiated space tourism, would not comment on the proposal. Enditem

    (Agencies)