Two Americans have won the go-ahead to become the next tourists in space, and two more spots for a Russian rocket trip to the International Space Station are now on the market, the U.S. firm selling the spots said on Tuesday.

Two Americans have won the go-ahead to become the next tourists in space, and two more spots for a Russian rocket trip to the International Space Station are now on the market, the U.S. firm selling the spots said on December 17, 2003. Two thrill-seeking civilians, whose names are still being withheld, have agreed to shell out $20 million each for separate eight- to 10-day trips into orbit. A recent launch of a Russian Soyuz in Baikonur, Kazakhstan is seen in this October 18 file photo. [Reuters]

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Two thrill-seeking civilians, whose names are still being withheld, have agreed to shell out $20 million each for separate eight- to 10-day trips into orbit.

These two space tourists won't be the first -- U.S. millionaire Dennis Tito and South African technology entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth forked over about the same amount to be launched into space in 2001 and 2002.

Two more seats are up for sale, locking up all the spots available on Russian Soyuz rockets through 2007, according to Space Adventures, a private U.S. firm running the trips with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

When the upcoming launches were announced in June, about a dozen people had undergone medical tests for the two available flights and paid certain fees.

The successful candidates were picked largely because they pitched unique mission objectives, Space Adventures President and Chief Executive Eric Anderson said.

One of the two is a 38-year-old male Manhattan real estate developer. No details about the other were available.

One of the space tourists will launch in the third quarter of 2004, and the other sometime in 2005. Space Adventures expected their names to be revealed sometime in January.

Most of the $20 million per-ticket cost goes to building the Soyuz rockets, which are not reusable. But the cash also helps boost Russia's space program.

Russia's Soyuz craft is currently the only working link to the International Space Station, after the February crash of the Columbia space shuttle grounded NASA's shuttle fleet.

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