WORLD : Briton to Join Cosmonaut Flight

Soviet and British officials today signed an agreement for the first Soviet-British space mission and announced their search for the man or woman who will become the first Briton in space.

The Briton will accompany two cosmonauts to the Soviet orbiting station Mir in 1991.

The mission, named Juno, will be the first manned space flight financed entirely by the private sector, project director Malcolm Magee-Brown told a Moscow news conference.

The British consortium behind the trip is trying to raise $25 million to cover costs for the British astronaut’s part in the mission, Magee-Brown said. It hopes to find the funding through corporate sponsorships, contracts for scientific experiments in orbit and the sale of broadcast and publishing rights, he said.