Seats for sale on Boeing's new spacecraft

Aerospace company Boeing will offer seats for sale on its new spacecraft built to take astronauts to the International Space Station.

Boeing is to sell a seat on a new spacecraft designed to fly to the International Space Station. (AAP)

If you fancy a trip to the International Space Station, give Boeing a call.

The aerospace company is building the next spacecraft designed to take astronauts to the ISS, with the first flight scheduled for 2018.

But unlike the space shuttles of the past, the five-seat Star Liner will have room for at least one civilian passenger.

"The fifth seat is open for sale to institutions, universities and other countries," Boeing spokesman Tony Castilleja said.

"I cannot reveal the price at this time but currently the United States pays Russia $80 million to transport NASA astronauts to the ISS.

"Star Liner will be less than that and the commercial space market will drive the price down even further".

A full-scale mock-up of the Star Liner's flight command deck has been on display this week at the International Astronautical Conference in Adelaide.

The cockpit features only about 70 switches, compared to about 1700 on a shuttle.

The difference reflects the fact that the Star Liner basically flies itself, with an astronaut taking control only in an emergency.

"We do that for just in case. There is no need for human interaction with the vehicle," Mr Castilleja said.

Boeing is currently building three Star Liners at the Kennedy Space Center in the Columbia space shuttle hanger.