Two American space tourists are being trained in Russia for express lane rides up to the International Space Station. A space tourism company has sold seats in Soyuz spacecraft slated to fly in 2004 and 2005, and has also acquired from Russian space officials two more slots for future paying passengers.

Space Adventures, based in Arlington, Virginia, has worked in the past with the Russian Space Agency to fly clients into Earth orbit: American businessman Dennis Tito in April 2001 and Mark Shuttleworth, a South African Internet mogul a year later.

"Were continuing our commitment," Anderson said. He said that the names of the two male space travelers selected are to be announced early next year. "But we have customers who have signed contracts, committed the money, and who are now both in the process of getting ready to go. There's still a lot to do."

The Soyuz TMA seats are being sold in conjunction with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos) and Rocket Space Corporation Energia (RSC Energia). Space Adventures has organized the joint effort to conduct private spaceflights to the International Space Station.

"We're looking at a flight of one of them in October of next year at the earliest," Anderson said, with the other person to fly in 2005. Each individual will take into space a quality project, such as an educational activity to help spur public interest in space travel, he said.

"We're seeking more candidates" for future Soyuz flights, Anderson said. The key for people wanting to take jaunts into Earth orbit is not only having the money, but also having months of time required to prepare for space travel, he added.

In regards to the future of space tourism, Anderson said, commercial orbital flight "will be a part of the International Space Station for many years."

"The 100^th anniversary of flight now being celebrated is a great turning point. Passenger space travel is going to be an instrumental part -- if not the defining part -- of the next 100 years of flight," Anderson said.

Along with orbital treks, Space Adventures is also engaged in spurring into being a future market for sub-orbital passenger flight.

Several vehicles, such as the SpaceShipOne rocket plane now undergoing testing by Scaled Composites, are likely to soon fly to the edge of space, Anderson said. "So I think the next two to three years ought to be really exciting."