Jeffrey Williams, Flight Commander, said, "We've been working with Guy, we've worked together now for a few weeks and he has proven himself very capable to execute this mission and he has been a great pleasure to work with and I look forward to going to space with both of them and I've told them several times - looking forward to watching their reaction as they experience each step of the way."

US astronaut and flight commander Jeffrey Williams, flight engineer Maxim Surayev and Guy Laliberte are undergoing final preparations before heading off to the Baikonur launch site.

Laliberte will likely be one of the last tourists to the space station for a few years. NASA will retire its shuttle fleet and will rely on the Russian space agency to ferry US astronauts to the space station. This will leave little room for tourists.

Laliberte declined to say exactly how much the trip has cost him. He says the price was similar to the amount paid by previous space tourists, around 30 million US dollars.