DSE-Alpha

Lore & Background

The DSE-Alpha concept was announced in August 2005 by Space Adventures Ltd., with plans to use a modified Soyuz spacecraft carrying one crew member and two passengers. A Zenit rocket would launch a Block DM upper stage weighing up to 14.5 tonnes, which would dock with the Soyuz in low Earth orbit and propel it to circumlunar velocity. Two flight profiles were proposed: a direct-staged profile lasting 8–9 days, and a longer profile of 9–21 days that included a visit to the International Space Station before lunar departure.

In June 2007, Space.com reported that two individuals had shown interest in purchasing seats, with contract negotiations expected by year's end. In January 2011, Space Adventures founder Eric Anderson announced that one of the two seats had been sold for US$150 million, and negotiations for the second seat were underway. The Soyuz would be modified with a thicker heat shield and a Yamal satellite communications system, while the Block DM booster would use an automatic docking system.

By 2011, Space Adventures projected the first mission could occur by 2015, but this slipped to 2018 by 2014. The company's website later changed to indicate a launch before the end of the decade, then removed any suggested timeline. Criticism from Mark Wade, author of the Encyclopedia Astronautica, argued that the Zenit rocket was not powerful enough and that the larger Proton rocket would be needed, with calculations showing a fully fueled Block DM would exceed Zenit's capabilities.

Reader's Guide

DSE-Alpha represents a significant early attempt to commercialize deep space travel, targeting the first tourist flight around the Moon. Proposed by Space Adventures Ltd., the mission leveraged the historical Soyuz design, which had originally been intended for circumlunar travel in the 1960s and later succeeded with the Zond variant. The mission's high price—initially US$100 million per seat, later rising to US$150 million—underscored the exclusivity and technical challenge of such an endeavor. Despite interest from two potential passengers and the sale of one seat by 2011, the mission faced technical doubts, particularly regarding the Zenit rocket's capability, as raised by critic Mark Wade. The repeated delays in projected launch dates, from 2015 to 2018 and beyond, ultimately left the mission unrealized as of the source article's information. DSE-Alpha's legacy lies in its role as a pioneering concept for private lunar tourism, highlighting both the ambition and the obstacles in making commercial deep space flight a reality.

Did You Know?

• The mission was proposed in 2005 by Space Adventures Ltd., a commercial spaceflight company.
• The price per seat was originally US$100 million in August 2005, but one seat was sold for US$150 million in January 2011.
• The Soyuz spacecraft would be modified with a thicker heat shield and a Yamal satellite communications system.
• Critic Mark Wade argued that the Zenit rocket was not powerful enough and that the larger Proton rocket would be needed.