As it became known, Russian billionaire, beneficiary of the holding company Eurocement Group, Filaret Galchev may become a space tourist, going to the ISS in September of this year instead of the British singer Sarah Brightman, who refused to fly.
"Galchev expressed interest in the flight immediately after it became known about Brightman's refusal. He is willing to spend about $50 million on such a trip. Galchev is already undergoing tests at a medical institution of the Russian Academy of Sciences specializing in space medicine. If the tests are successful, Galchev will sign an agreement with the Space Adventures company, which services space tourists," — Izvestia quotes a message from a person from the oligarch’s inner circle.
In 2015, Filaret Galchev was ranked 23rd in the Forbes magazine list of the 200 richest Russian businessmen. His fortune is estimated at approximately $4,4 billion.
Let us add that the Soyuz spacecraft, which will launch from Baikonur in September of this year, was supposed to fly to the ISS famous British vocalist Sarah Brightman. However, due to family circumstances, she was forced to give up the chance become the eighth space tourist in the history of mankind.
On May 14, Brightman's press secretary Chris Goodman said Brightman intended to refund the money for the cancelled flight. He also clarified that The singer spent 52 million dollars. Meanwhile, Roscosmos is not going to return Sarah Brightman's money, because they did not take any money from her. After all, it was not Roscosmos that signed the contract with the world celebrity, but the Space Adventures company. Now Sarah Brightman's lawyer is preparing to talk about returning the singer's capital with representatives of this company.
