Space tourism

Space tourism is the recent phenomenon of tourists paying for flights into space pioneered by Russia.

As of 2008, orbital space tourism opportunities are limited and expensive, with only the Russian Space Agency providing transport. The price for a flight brokered by Space Adventures to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft is now $20 million. Flights are fully booked until 2009.

Among the primary attractions of space tourism are the uniqueness of the experience, the thrill and awe of looking at Earth from space, the experience's notion as an exclusive status symbol, and various advantages of weightlessness.The space tourism industry is being targeted by spaceports in numerous locations, including California, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, Alaska, Wisconsin, Esrange in Sweden as well as the United Arab Emirates. Some use the term "personal spaceflight" as in the case of the Personal Spaceflight Federation.

Early dreams

After initial successes in space, much of the public saw intensive space exploration as inevitable. In people's minds, such exploration was symbolized by wide public access to space, mostly in the form of space tourism. Those aspirations are best remembered in science fiction works (and one children's book), such as Arthur C. Clarke's "A Fall of Moondust" and also "", Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator", Joanna Russ's 1968 novel "Picnic on Paradise", and Larry Niven's Known Space stories. Lucian in 2 A.D. in his book "True History" examines the idea of a crew of men whose ship travels to the Moon during a storm. Jules Verne also took up the theme of lunar visits in his books, "From the Earth to the Moon" and "Around the Moon". Robert A. Heinlein’s short story "The Menace from Earth", published in 1957, was one of the first to incorporate elements of a developed space tourism industry within its framework. During the 1960s and 1970s, it was common belief that space hotels would be launched by 2000. Many futurologists around the middle of the 20th century speculated that the average family of the early 21st century would be able to enjoy a holiday on the Moon.

The end of the Space Race, however, signified by the Moon landing, decreased the emphasis placed on space exploration by national governments and therefore led to decreased demands for public funding of manned space flights.cite journal | title = Space: the forgotten frontier? |date=2003-03-01 |url=http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/963/Space:_the_forgotten_frontier_.html|year =]

Precedents

The Soviet space program was aggressive in broadening the pool of cosmonauts from the very beginning. The Soviet Intercosmos program also included cosmonauts selected from Warsaw Pact members (from Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, Cuba, Romania, Mongolia) and later from allies of the USSR (France, Vietnam) and non-aligned countries (India, Syria, Afghanistan). Most of these cosmonauts received full training for their missions and were treated as equals, but especially after the Mir program began, were generally given shorter flights than Soviet cosmonauts. The European Space Agency took advantage of the program as well.

The U.S. Space Shuttle program included payload specialist positions which were usually filled by representatives of companies or institutions managing a specific payload on that mission. These payload specialists did not receive the same training as professional NASA astronauts and were not employed by NASA, so they were essentially private astronauts. NASA was also eager to prove its capability to Congressional sponsors, and Senator Jake Garn and (then-Representative, now Senator) Bill Nelson were both given opportunities to fly on board a shuttle. As the Shuttle program expanded, the Teacher in Space program was developed as a way to expand publicity and educational opportunities for NASA. Christa McAuliffe would have been the first Teacher in Space, but was killed in the Challenger disaster and the program was canceled. During the same period a Journalist in Space program was frequently discussed, with individuals such as Walter Cronkite and Miles O'Brien considered front-runners, but no formal program was ever developed. McAuliffe's backup in the Teacher in Space Program, Barbara Morgan, trained and flew aboard STS-118 as a fully trained NASA payload specialist and spoke to many students as an educator during the trip.

With the realities of the post-Perestroika economy in Russia, its space industry was especially starved for cash. The Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) offered to pay for one of its reporters to fly on a mission. For $28 million, Toyohiro Akiyama was flown in 1990 to Mir with the eighth crew and returned a week later with the seventh crew. Akiyama gave a daily TV broadcast from orbit and also performed scientific experiments for Russian and Japanese companies. However, since the cost of the flight was paid by his employer, Akiyama could be considered a business traveler rather than a tourist.

In 1991, British chemist Helen Sharman was selected from a pool of public applicants to be the first Briton in space.cite journal | first =|last=| |title = 1991: Sharman becomes first Briton in space] |date=1991-05-18 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/18/newsid_2380000/2380649.stm |year =] As the United Kingdom had no human space program, the arrangement was by a consortium of private companies who contracted with the Russian space program. Sharman was also in a sense a private space traveler, but she was a working cosmonaut with a full training regimen.

Orbital space tourism

At the end of 90s, MirCorp, a private venture by then in charge of the space station, began seeking potential space tourists to visit Mir in order to offset some of its maintenance costs. Dennis Tito, an American businessman and former JPL scientist, became their first candidate. When the decision to de-orbit Mir was made, Tito managed to switch his trip to the International Space Station through a deal between MirCorp and U.S.-based Space Adventures, Ltd., despite strong opposition from senior figures at NASA. Space Adventures remains the only company to have sent paying passengers to space. [cite web | url = http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3391085 | title = Int'l space station ticket price climbs | publisher = AP] cite news | url=http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13304491 | author=Boyle, Alan | title=Regulators OK Oklahoma spaceport - Suborbital test flights could begin in 2007, setting stage for tourists | publisher=MSNBC | date=13 June 2006 |accessdate=2006-06-26]

In conjunction with the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation and Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, Space Adventures facilitated the flights for the world's first private space explorers: Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Gregory Olsen, Anousheh Ansari and Charles Simonyi. The first three participants paid in excess of $20 million (USD) each for their 10-day visit to the ISS.

On April 28, 2001, Dennis Tito became the first "fee-paying" space tourist when he visited the International Space Station (ISS) for seven days. He was followed in 2002 by South African computer millionaire Mark Shuttleworth. The third was Gregory Olsen in 2005, who was trained as a scientist and whose company produced specialist high-sensitivity cameras. Olsen planned to use his time on the ISS to conduct a number of experiments, in part to test his company's products. Olsen had planned an earlier flight, but had to cancel for health reasons.

After the Columbia disaster, space tourism on the Russian Soyuz program was temporarily put on hold, because Soyuz vehicles became the only available transport to the ISS. However, in 2006, space tourism was resumed. On September 18, 2006, Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian American (Soyuz TMA-9), became the fourth space tourist (she prefers spaceflight participant). On April 7, 2007, Charles Simonyi, an American billionaire of Hungarian descent, joined their ranks (Soyuz TMA-10).

In 2003, NASA and the Russian Space Agency agreed to use the term 'Spaceflight Participant' to distinguish those space travelers from astronauts on missions coordinated by those two agencies. Tito, Shuttleworth, Olsen, Ansari, and Simonyi were designated as such during their respective space flights. [cite web|url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/PS/index.html|title=Payload Specialist Astronauts|accessdate=2007-05-20] NASA also lists Christa McAuliffe as a "Space Flight Participant" (although she did not pay a fee), apparently due to her non-technical duties aboard the STS-51-L flight.

List of flown space tourists

All five space tourists flew to and from the International Space Station on Soyuz spacecraft through the space tourism company, Space Adventures:cite news| author=howstuffworks.com|title=How Space Tourism Works |url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-tourism.htm | year = ]
#Dennis Tito (American): April 28 - May 6, 2001
#Mark Shuttleworth (South African / British): April 25 - May 5, 2002 - First African in Space
#Gregory Olsen (American): October 1 - October 11, 2005
#Anousheh Ansari (Iranian / American): September 18 - September 29, 2006
#Charles Simonyi (Hungarian / American): April 7 - April 21, 2007 [ [http://www.charlesinspace.com/ Charles in Space] Charles Simonyi's blog and video blog about his trip to the ISS]

Future space tourists

The following people have been named as possible future commercial passengers on Soyuz spacecraft to the ISS:
* Richard Garriott (United States). Expected to fly on Soyuz TMA-13 in October 2008.Cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/09/04/tech-gruzdev-space-tour.html|title=Russian lawmaker could be next space tourist: report|accessmonthday=September 14|accessyear=2007|publisher=CBS News|year=2007|author=CBS News] Cite web|url=http://www.itwire.com/content/view/14668/1066/|title=Lord British: 6th space tourist, 1st to commercialize space station|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=September 11|publisher=ITWire|year=2007|author=William Atkins] Garriott is a developer of video games whose father, Owen Garriott was an astronaut with NASA. If the mission goes as planned, Garriott will be returning with an astronaut who will also be a second-generation space traveler. [">Cite web | url=http://www.independent.co.uk/student/career-planning/getting-job/passedfailed-an-education-in-the-life-of-richard-garriott-private-astronaut-and-computer-games-developer-835581.html | title=Passed/Failed: An education in the life of Richard Garriott, private astronaut and computer games developer | date=2008-05-28 | |publisher=The Independent |year=2008|author=Jonathan Sale]

* Vladimir Gruzdev (Russia). Expected to fly in 2009. [cite web | url = http://en.rian.ru/russia/20071005/82599456.html | title = First Russian space flight participant will not lift off until 2009 | publisher = RIA Novosti | date = 2007-10-05] Gruzdev is a United Russia pro-presidential party member. The United Russia party may pay the estimated $25 million for the flight from the party funds. Gruzdev has had a medical examination and been given approval to begin the cosmonaut training program. Gruzdev previously participated in the Arktika 2007 mission, which placed a Russian flag on the seabed near the North Pole.

* Sergey Brin (United States). Expected to fly in 2011. [cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7449072.stm | title = Google founder books space flight | publisher = British Broadcasting Company | date = 2008-06-11] Brin, co-founder of Google, is a firm supporter of space tourism and future space travel.

Additionally, as of November 2007 Virgin Galactic had pre-sold nearly 200 seats for their suborbital space tourism flights, according to the company's president. [cite web | url = http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/339535_spacetourism14.html | title = Spaceflights now for sale; scary part is price | publisher = Seattle Post-Intelligencer | date = November 14, 2007]

uborbital flights

More affordable suborbital space tourism is viewed as a money-making proposition by several other companies, including Space Adventures, Virgin Galactic, Starchaser, Blue Origin, Armadillo Aerospace, XCOR Aerospace, Rocketplane Limited, the European "Project Enterprise", [cite web|url=http://www.european-spacetourism.eu|title=Project Enterprise|accessdate=2008-03-26] and others.Fact|date=February 2007 Most are proposing vehicles that make suborbital flights peaking at an altitude of 100-160 kilometres.cite journal | first = | last = | | title=Scotland 2040: Spaceships head for Moon with lunar golfers and crater ramblers aboard |date=2006-10-12 |url=http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=6&id=1510152006 | year = ] Passengers would experience three to six minutes of weightlessness, a view of a twinkle-free starfield, and a vista of the curved Earth below. Projected costs are expected to be about $200,000 per passenger.cite journal | title=British tycoon wants to fly you to space: Virgin Galactic plans to sell $200,000 rides |date=2004-09-28 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/09/28/MNG99906EQ1.DTL | year = ] [cite web|url=http://www.xprize.org/|title=X PRIZE Foundation] [cite web|url=http://www.spaceadventures.com/|title=Space Adventures] [cite web|url=http://www.nogravity.com/|title=Zero Gravity Corporation] [ [http://www.monochrom.at/space-tourism/ The Last Frontier Of Tourism] (article by Stefan Tiron, published by monochrom)]

The X Prize

On October 4, 2004, the SpaceShipOne, designed by Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites and funded by Virgin Galactic, won the $10,000,000 X Prize, which was designed to be won by the first private company who could reach and surpass an altitude of 62 miles (100km) twice within two weeks. The altitude is beyond the Kármán Line, the arbitrarily defined boundary of space. [http://www.scaled.com/projects/tierone/041004_spaceshipone_x-prize_flight_2.html SpaceShipOne Captures X-Prize] October 4, 2004] The first flight was flown by Michael Melvill on June 21, 2004 to a height of 62 miles, making him the first commercial astronaut. [ [http://www.scaled.com/projects/tierone/melvill.htm SpaceShipOne pilot bio: Michael W. Melvill] May 2005] The prize-winning flight was flown by Brian Binnie, which reached a height of 69.6 miles, breaking the X-15 record.cite web|url=http://www.scaled.com/projects/tierone/041004_spaceshipone_x-prize_flight_2.html|title=www.scaled.com/projects/tierone/041004_spaceshipone_x-prize_flight_2.html ]

Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic, one of the leading potential space tourism groups, is planning to have passenger service on its first spaceship, the VSS Enterprise (Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo), with the inaugural launch in 2008 and main flights beginning in 2009. [ [http://www.virgingalactic.com/ Virgin Galactic] - Virgin Galactic] The price is initially set at $200,000. Headed by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, Virgin Galactic will be the first private space tourism company to regularly send civilians into space, by training them for 3 days before their launch. The SpaceShipTwo spaceship was built as a result of the Ansari X Prize (which was won by SpaceShipOne); both SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo were designed by Burt Rutan. Launches will first occur at the Mojave Spaceport in California, and will then be moved to the permanent spaceport in Upham, New Mexico, near Truth or Consequences. The spaceships used will go 360,000 feet (109.73 km, or 68.18 miles) high; this goes beyond the height of 100 km, which is the internationally defined boundary between Earth and space. Space flights will last 2.5 hours, carry 6 passengers, and reach a speed of Mach 3. SpaceShipTwo will not require a space shuttle-like heat shield for atmospheric reentry as it will not experience the extreme aerodynamic heating experienced during reentry at orbital velocities (approximately Mach 22.5 at a typical shuttle altitude of 300 km, or 185 miles).cite journal | title = Flight to Orbit |url=http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/rktrflght.html| year = ] The glider will employ a "feathering" technique to manage drag during the unpowered descent and landing. SpaceShipTwo will use a single hybrid rocket motor to launch from mid-air after detaching from a mother ship at 50,000 feet, instead of NASA's Space Shuttle's ground-based launch.

Project Enterprise

Project Enterprise [cite web|url=http://www.european-spacetourism.eu|title=Project Enterprise|accessdate=2008-03-26] was launched by the German TALIS Institute in 2004 and is the first project of its kind in Europe. The goal is to develop a rocket propelled spaceplane by 2011 that will carry one pilot and up to five passengers into suborbital space. The plane will launch from the ground using rockets, and will return in an unpowered flight like Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo. The prototypes and finished spaceplane will be launched from an airport near Cochstedt (Germany; Saxony-Anhalt).

Since 2004, the TALIS Institute has gained many industrial partners, including XtremeAir [cite web|url=http://www.xtremeair.de|title=Project Enterprise - XtremeAir|accessdate=2008-03-26] , who will manufacture the airframe, and Swiss Propulsion Laboratory SPL [cite web|url=http://www.spl.ch|title=Project Enterprise - Swiss Propulsion Laboratory SPL|accessdate=2008-03-26] , who will deliver the propulsion components. XtremeAir is well known for their acrobatic airplanes and SPL has designed and tested liquid propellant rocket engines since 1998.

Current work is focusing on the first prototype, the "Black Sky": An existing acrobatic airplane will be fitted with a single rocket engine and a new wing. The rocket engine will deliver a thrust of 10 kN. The test program for this engine started in 2007 at SPL.

Legality

United States

In December 2005, the U.S. Government released a set of proposed rules for space tourism.

Under current US law, any company proposing to launch paying passengers from American soil on a suborbital rocket must receive a license from the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST). The licensing process focuses on public safety and safety of property, and the details can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 14, Chapter III.cite journal | first = | last = | | title =Electronic Code of Federal Regulations |url= http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?sid=f32ec318140f194f1e3f1981d8192833&c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title14/14cfrv4_02.tpl#300 | year = ] This is in accordance with the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act passed by Congress in 2004.cite journal | first = | last = | | title= Congress Passes Space Tourism Bill |url=http://www.space.com/news/congress_spacetourism_041209.html |date=2004-12-09]

Orbital flights, space stations and space hotels

*EADS Astrium, a subsidiary of European aerospace giant EADS, announced its space tourism project on June 13, 2007. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article1909818.ece Europe joins space tourism race] , "Times online", June 10, 2007]
*SpaceX is a private space company which develops their own rocket family called "Falcon" and a capsule named Dragon, capable of sending up to 7 people to any space station, either ISS or a possible station by Bigelow Aerospace. Falcon 1 has already undertaken testflights and is on the way to its first commercial flight, Falcon 9 (which would be the rocket for the Dragon capsule) is currently at the test facility and will take its first testflight later that year. The Dragon capsule is slated to enter service 2009.
*Constellation Services International (CSI) is working on a project to send manned spacecraft on commercial circumlunar missions. Their offer would include a week-long stay at the ISS, as well as a week-long trip around the MoonFact|date=February 2007.
*Space Adventures Ltd. have also announced that they are working on circumlunar missions to the moon, with the price per passenger being $100,000,000.cite journal | title= $100 Million Moon Trip: Space Tourism's Hot Ticket? | date=2005-08-10 |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0810_050810_moontrip.html | year = ] They are currently developing spaceports at the United Arab Emirates (Ras al-Khaimah) and in Singapore.
*Orbital space tourist flights are also being planned by Excalibur Almaz, using modernized "TKS" space capsules.

Several plans have been proposed for using a space station as a hotel. [cite web|url=http://www.spacefuture.com/tourism/hotels.shtml|title=Space hotels] American motel tycoon Robert Bigelow has acquired the designs for inflatable space habitats from the Transhab program abandoned by NASA. His company, Bigelow Aerospace already launched the first inflatable habitat module named Genesis I in 12 July 2006. The second test module, Genesis II was launched 28 June 2007. It is also currently planning to launch a prototype space station module by late 2008, and plans to officially launch the first commercial space station by 2010 (tagged "Nautilus") which will have 330 cubic meters (almost as big as the ISS's 425 cubic meters of usable volume).cite journal | title=A Room with a View of Mars, Please |date=2006-10-06 |url=http://www.tfot.info/content/view/77/ ] . [cite web|url=http://www.tfot.info/content/view/77/|title=An interview with Michael Gold about Bigelow Aerospace]

Bigelow Aerospace is currently offering the America's Space Prize, a $50 million prize to the first US company to create a reusable spacecraft capable of carrying passengers to a Nautilus space station.

Other companies have also expressed interest in constructing "space hotels".For example, Excalibur Almaz plans to modernize and launch its Soviet-era Almaz space stations, which will feature the largest windows ever on spacecraft. Virgin's Richard Branson has expressed hishope for the construction of a space hotel within his lifetime. He expects that beginning a space tourism program will cost $100 million. Hilton International announced the Space Islands Project, a plan to connect together used Space Shuttle fuel tanks, each the diameter of a Boeing 747 aircraft.cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/293366.stm|title=Hilton to back space hotel |date=1999-03-09 |accessdate=2007-05-20] A separate organization, Space Island Group [cite web|url=http://www.spaceislandgroup.com/home.html |title=The Space Island Group's Mission |year=2006 |accessdate=2007-05-20] announced their distinct Space Island Project (note the singular "Island"), and plans on having 20,000 people on their "space island" by 2020, with the number of people doubling for each decade.cite journal | first = | last = | | title =http://www.spaceislandgroup.com/sig-vision.html | year = ] British Airways has expressed interest in the venture. If and when Space Hotels develop, it would initially cost a passenger $60,000, with prices lowering over time.cite journal | first = | last = | | title= Space Future - Prospects of Space Tourism] |date=1996=05-15
url=http://www.spacefuture.com/archive/prospects_of_space_tourism.shtml | year = ]

Fashion designer Eri Matsui has designed clothing, including a wedding gown, intended to look best in weightless environments.

Advocacy, education, and industry organizations

Several organizations have been formed to promote the space tourism industry, including the Space Tourism Society, and others. [ [http://www.spacetourismsociety.org/ Space Tourism Society] ] [cite web|url=http://www.spacefuture.com/|title=Space Future Journal] cite journal | first = | last = | | title=Space Tourism: Personal Spaceflight for you ... | year = |url=http://www.hobbyspace.com/Tourism ] More information about the future of Space Tourism can be found at [http://www.robert-goehlich.de Space Tourism Lecture] , which is a free online Space Tourism Lecture handout collection. Since 2003 Dr. Robert A. Goehlich teaches the world's first and only Space Tourism class at Keio University, Yokohama, Japan.

Opinions of commercial space tourism

A web-based survey suggested that over 70% of those surveyed wanted less than or equal to 2 weeks in space; in addition, 88% wanted to spacewalk (only 74% of these would do it for a 50% premium), and 21% wanted a hotel or space station.cite journal | first = | last = | | title =http://www.space.com/news/061003_tourism_survey.html | year = ]

The concept has met with some criticism from social commentators and politicians, notably Guenter Verheugen, vice-president of the European Commission, who said of the EADS Astrium Space Tourism Project "It's only for the super rich, which is against my social convictions" [Citation
title = EU official balks at space tourism
date = 2007-06-15
year = 2007
url = http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Rest+of+the+World&month=June2007&file=World_News2007061523649.xml
accessdate = .] .

Objection to "Space Tourist" terminology

Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Gregory Olsen and Anousheh Ansari have all preferred to be called something other than "space tourist". In each case, they explained their preferences by pointing out that they carried out scientific experiments as part of their journey. Tito has asked to be known as an "independent researcher"Fact|date=June 2008. Shuttleworth proposed "pioneer of commercial space travel" [cite web | url=http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2190-space-tourist-insists-on-pioneering-role.html | title="Space tourist" insists on pioneering role | publisher=New Scientist | accessdate=2008-05-03] . Olsen preferred "private researcher." [cite web | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4623674/ | title=Space millionaire to mix science with pleasure publisher= MSNBC |accessdate=2008-06-03] Ansari prefers the term "private space explorer".cite web | url=http://www.anoushehansari.com/ | title=www.anoushehansari.com |accessdate=2006-09-22] Alone among those who have paid to go to orbit so far, Charles Simonyi seems to have no concerns about calling it "space tourism", even in reference to his own experience. Asked in an interview "Do you foresee a day when space tourism is not just the province of billionaires - when it will be as affordable as plane travel?", he did not object to the implicit categorization of his own trip, but rather answered "Yes, the only question is when ...." [cite news
last = Arango
first = Tim
title = From the Iron Curtain to the Final Frontier
work = Fortune magazine
publisher =
date = 2007-05-25
url = http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/05/28/100033715/?postversion=2007052514
accessdate = 2008-06-05 ]

Although many space enthusiasts subscribe to the notion of space tourism as a potential burgeoning industry that could further the development and settlement of space, some of these same enthusiasts object to the use of the term "space tourist". Rick Tumlinson of the Space Frontier Foundation, for example, has said

"I hate the word tourist, and I always will .... 'Tourist' is somebody in a flowered shirt with three cameras around his neck." [cite web
last = Foust
first = Jeff
title = Is it time to dump the t-word?
url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/280/1
accessdate = 2008-06-03 ]

Others with perhaps less enthusiasm for space development seem to agree. Alex Tabarrok has categorized it as a kind of "adventure travel". The mere fact of people paying for a travel experience does not, in his view, make that activity "tourism".

At best and for the foreseeable future space travel will remain akin to climbing Everest, dangerous and uncommon. Yes, we might see 100 flights a year but that's not space tourism - tourism is fat guys with cameras. [cite web
last = Tabarrok
first = Alex
title = Romance and Realism in Space Tourism
url=http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2004/11/space_tourism_i.html
accessdate = 2008-06-03 ]

See also

* Armadillo Aerospace
* Bigelow Aerospace
* Blue Origin
* Commercial astronaut
* Launch loop
* List of private spaceflight companies
* MirCorp
* Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination
* Space Adventures
* Space colonization
* 2suit
* Space Tourism Society
* Space Transport Corporation (STC)
* Spaceflight participant
* Sex in space
* Virgin Galactic

References

External links

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