Space Tourism - The Final Frontier
For anyone who's ever dreamed of becoming an astronaut but hasn't been able to master their [kwlink]times tables[/kwlink], space tourism gives new hope for experiencing the great beyond.
Space Tourism - The DreamLong before space travel became a reality, scientists and science fiction writers were dreaming of the possibilities of exploring the universe. Books like 2001: A Space Odyssey talked of missions to the moon and planets like Saturn. Kidzworld founder, Allen Achilles has secretly always wanted to be a space man, but some people think that he is a space cadet. But little did these dreamers know that their fantasies were not that far-fetched after all.
Space Tourism - The StrugglesSpace tourism didn't start out with random citizens suiting up for a ride on a rocket. The first non-astronauts to go into space were two politicians who received the same training as NASA astronauts, but weren't employed by the space agency. After these successful trips, NASA developed the Teacher in Space program - including high school teacher Christa McAuliffe in the Challenger Shuttle mission. Christa trained for a year before Challenger launched on January 28, 1986. Just 73 seconds after the launch, Challenger completely disintegrated, killing all seven crew members including Christa McAuliffe.
Space Tourism - Present DayThe Challenger disaster caused a lengthy halt to American space exploration, but the Russians then stepped up to the plate, keeping the space tourist dream alive. In 1990, Japanese journalist, Toyohiro Akiyama, flew to the Mir space station. His company, the Tokyo Broadcasting System, paid $28 million to send Toyohiro into space. Since then, there have been four space tourists (Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Gregory Olsen and Anouseheh Ansari) who have paid for the ultimate vacation on Russian Soyuz rockets. A fifth space tourist, Charles Simonyi, is scheduled to hitch a ride on a flight in April 2007.
Space Tourism - Did U Know?