The era of Space Tourism began on April 28, 2001 when Denis Tito was launched into space in a Russian Soyuz capsule. Tito, a multi-millionaire reputed to have paid $20 million for the trip, proved that traveling beyond Earth’s gravity was not just the province of a select few, but that anyone with drive, determination – and at that point in history, a lot of money – could become an astronaut.
Since then, other tourists have journeyed to the International Space Station. But they remain a select few with huge disposable incomes to fund their dream of spaceflight.
All that began to change on June 21st, 2004. For some years before that, the X-Prize Foundation had challenged aeronautical engineers and companies to desing a reusable craft that could ferry paying passengers to space. SpaceShip One took the prize that June day in 2004 and the possibilities for ordinary Joe’s to get into space became a lot more realistic.
Other companies had competed but, perhaps surprisingly, none ever launched their own craft into space following SpaceShip One’s success. At the time, everybody seemed gung-ho about their variations on reusable craft. Either they were over enthusiastic, overestimated their own capabilities or, because the Prize had been won, decided to continue development out of the spotlight or drop our entirely.
But things have not been stagnant in the three years since the X-Prize was won. Richard Branson went into business with the makers of SpaceShip One (Burt Rutan and co.) in the hopes of launching a venture that would be accessible to a huge number of people interested in taking a trip to space.
No long after, Virgin Galactic was announced to the world, along with the development of SpaceShip Two, which would carry six people to the edge of space in a sub-orbital flight. The going rate for a seat is $100,000 and, while not cheap, is within the means of a large number of people. SpaceShip Two is scheduled to launch in 2009. And then the Space Tourism revolution really will begin.
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| Virgin Galactic Following the launch of SpaceShip One in 2005 which won the X-Prize, entrepreneur Richard Branson set up Virgin Galactic which aims to fly tourists on suborbital flights to the edge of space within the next few years. XPrize Foundation |
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The Russian Soyuz capsule carrying Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and two other space travelers landed safely in Kazakhstan on Sunday, ending the entertainment tycoon's mirthful space odyssey.
Laliberte, who wore a bulbous clown nose during his stay aboard the International Space Station, was extracted from the cramped Soyuz capsule Sunday morning following its landing in the steppes of northern Kazakhstan.
After the landing, he was carried from the capsule wearing the round red nose.
Laliberte returned with Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and NASA astronaut Michael Barratt, re-entering the Earth's atmosphere several hours after their capsule left the International Space Station.
I think I would be more excited if they were powered by poop fuel. Seriously. I would totally be all over that.
What I'm most curious about, though, is a) how long it will take the price for this and b) how long until this becomes more than a 'go up and look around' – the scifi part of me totally sees something going wrong on the ISS, and the only available craft that can reach it is spaceship two, thus launching the venture into a higher orbit, as it were.
I think society gets so caught up in its own present worries it dampens people's optimistic views of the future. Unfortunately, "news" doesn't 'sell' if it's not horrible so a lot of this good stuff goes by the wayside.
It's left to specialty magazines like Popular Science, and Air & Space to do these 'special interest' stories which is unfortunate because I think they are truly mainstream stories!
Here are some MORE neat space things happening!
Space "tourism" is already underway. Private citizens have hitched space rides to the (now defunct) Russian space station as well as the international space station. Scaled Composites
(winner of the 10 million dollar X-Prize for being the 1st privately funded company to place a man in space) along with a handful of other companies is planning to offer sub orbital (and later orbital) 'rides' into space for anyone willing to pay (and they have orders already).
Reuters is a company that has plans to open the first hotel in space says it's goal is to have its first paying guests by 2012.
Future plans by various start up companies include expansion of this tourism industry to include trips to the moon!
Spaceport America now being built in New Mexico is the first privately funded space launching facility to be constructed.
The real barrier to space has always been Earth's gravity well. It takes so much brute force to get anything into and beyond earth orbit! Over 90% of a rocket's fuel is spent just getting a payload to Earth orbit. From there it's easy to go to the Moon, Mars or anywhere in the solar system.
For space tourism and space exploration to really take off, we must find a much cheaper way to get into orbit. Things are looking hopeful here too!
The US Air Force's experimental scram jet X-51a Waverider offers promise as theoretically it (or a next generation scramjet) could boost a payload (with a much much smaller rocket) into orbit much more efficiently because, unlike a rocket, a scramjet doesn't have to carry it's own oxidizer for the fuel it burns.
Another promising technology (although farther away) is development of the so called "Space
which is literally an elevator that reaches all the way into Earth orbit! It would take incredibly long and STRONG tethers but new materials research says that nanotubes (20 times tougher than steel)would be strong enough.
Another promising technology in the works is the so called "Magnetoplasma Rocket" which could cut a journey from Earth to Mars to just 39 days (instead of the 6-9 months it now takes).
When all of this comes together, you will not only start to see interplanetary exploration, you might be the one going!
Space travel is becoming more and more accessible. First, it was considered impossible. Then, it was something only for highly trained astronauts. A few years ago, the Russian space program made a trip to space available to anyone–who could pay them US$20 million. Now, as you probably know, Virgin Intergalactic is very close to offering short trips to sub-orbital space for about US$200,000. Passengers will get a breathtaking view, a few moments of weightlessness, and as you pointed out, a whole new perspective on humanity and life. Once that gets off the ground, others will compete, making it even more affordable. As it becomes cheaper, and you continue to think and grow rich, I'm sure you'll be in a position to make the trip before too long.
Interesting. But, is a trip to space really worth it to the average person? I mean, what benefit does it really have? If people actually go to space other than scientific study, then other than for the benefit of experience, what do they actually gain? I just don’t imagine that many people wanting to go to space to begin with.
Just booked a trip to space
Now this is a little odd I think. Time within the space/time continuum does change depending on where one is. It is say faster if one is on the International Space station than say here in Dallas County Texas. Why then could or would time be speeding up? It seems a constant thing to me minus it seems as if it speeds up the older I get. That I think is a psychological thing though. My perception of time has changed through life but I do think time travels at the same rate from say 20 years ago.