Britain could become the first country to fly a tourist around the moon, after an Isle of Man-based company announced that it would be ready to take passengers on private lunar expeditions by 2015.

Excalibur Almaz will charge wannabe astronauts an average of £100 million for a six to eight month journey exploring deep space.

Three wealthy individuals, or astronauts from emerging powers, will be crammed into a reusable capsule the size of a waste skip and launched by rocket to a space station. After the two vehicles link up, they will travel on to the Moon.

“It is like how private British companies led expeditions to the South Pacific in the 17th century,” said Art Dula, founder of Excalibur Almaz. “We’ve just gone from seafaring to spacefaring.”

The company, run by Americans, chose to be based in the Isle of Man because of the island government’s commitment to the space industry, which ministers forecast will soon make up more a third of its gross domestic product. The lack of corporation tax and proximity to the City are also advantages.

Unlike SpaceX , its US rival, Excalibur Almaz has not received any American government subsidies. Its biggest advantage is its second-hand Soviet spacecraft which have helped Excalibur Almaz avoid the laborious process of developing and testing new equipment.

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