The time is ripe for developing a profitable space tourism industry, according to advisers to the US Air Force space programme. They have developed a strategy that they say could make space flight so cheap it could attract millions of space tourists within 10 years.
A Russian company has unveiled the prototype of the world's first reusable spaceship, aimed at space tourists.
A revolutionary new way of fuelling a space shuttle by harvesting liquid oxygen from the atmosphere could one day make space tourism far cheaper than the $20m Dennis Tito has paid for his planned trip to the International Space Station. The technology could even make launches safe enough to fly from civilian airports.
When it comes to "civilian" travel in space, getting there may not be half the fun -- it may be all the fun -- at least for the next several decades. Not only is there presently no way to go into the void unless you're part of an American or Russian astronaut crew, but there's also no place to go except up and back, around the Earth a few times, or, maybe, to the International Space Station Alpha.
Buckle up for the ride of your lifetime: space tourism is set to leap out of the pages of science fiction and take off in the coming years if a clutch of Japanese companies have their way. "Space flight, which had just been an idle dream for mankind, became a routine job for astronauts in the 20th century," says Kohki Isozaki, head of space tourism promotion at the Japanese Rocket Society. "And this will become your reality in the 21st century," he predicted.
A study group at the International Space University has concluded that it is only a matter of time before space tourism becomes a reality. "To me, it doesn't seem a stretch of the imagination to think that we're going to get there. Market studies, how many will travel and at what cost?everything I see and read about space tourism says this has to be a go," said ISU President, Karl Doetsch.
A recent survey reveals that while only a minority of the American public is interested in one form of space tourism, those who are interested are willing to spend large sums of money to participate.
The recent announcement that a Dutch based company, MirCorp, plans to launch commercial space flights to the Russian-owned Mir space station for private citizens has reignited the U.S.-Russia spice rivalry but this time its over the space tourism industry.
China is planning to orbit its own space station as part of its manned space program.
Travel industry experts discuss the future of space tourism at a recent conference.