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• Space Tourism is a developing industry in which private citizens are transported from the surface of the Earth on flights into space.

  To date such services have been available only through national space agencies, and the costs involved have been in the millions of dollars.

  However private companies such as Virgin Galactic are developing reusable craft to enable short trips into space at much lower cost. These craft are also intended for use in launching satellites and other missions.

  Most of those who have travelled into space at their own expense dislike the term "space tourism", pointing out that they undertook serious scientific work while on their journeys.

  In June 2009, work began on Spaceport America, in New Mexico. This will be the launch site for several of the new space tourism companies.

  
  

• Fast Facts

  1. First space tourist: Dennis Tito, a multi-millionaire from California
  2. Pioneered by the Russian Space Agency
  3. Passengers would ride aboard a Russian rocket and stay in the International Space Station
  4. Cost for trip: $20 million
  5. Private companies such as Virgin Galactic and XCOR Aerospace are developing suborbital passenger craft
  6. Commercial flights will begin as early as 2009 for Virgin Galactic,Reuters: Virgin Galactic unveils SpaceShipTwo model (January 23, 2008) and 2010 for XCOROfficial Press Release: XCOR Aerospace announces new... (March 26, 2008)
  7. Average cost for commercial flight into space: $200,000

• First Space Tourists

  1. April 31, 2001: Dennis Tito
  2. April 25, 2002: Mark Shuttleworth
  3. October 1, 2005: Greg Olsen
  4. September 18, 2006: Anousheh Ansari
  5. April 7, 2007 & March 26, 2009: Charles SimonyiHow Stuff Works: How Space Tourism Works
  6. October 12, 2008: Richard Garriott

• Related Pages on Mahalo

  NASA | Virgin Galactic | SpaceX | XCOR Aerospace | XCOR Lynx | Richard Garriott | Astronauts | Mike Griffin

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