Why Space Tourism?
Space travel as we know it costs an astronomical amount of money, so a number of companies are in the process of creating a new generation of space vehicles—called reusable launch vehicles—that are cheaper and can be used more than just once. The problem for these companies is that the new spacecraft will still be expensive enough that manufacturing them only for the few satellite launches and space missions that do happen in a year is not feasible. And the most obvious area for profit is that of passenger travel. image: NASA The demand apparently is there. A 1997 survey by Yankelovich Partners of Connecticut found that approximately 40 million Americans would be interested in a two-week space shuttle vacation. And approximately 29 million of them would be willing to pay up to $10,000 to do it. The Japanese are even more anxious to venture into outer space: a 1993 study by the National Aerospace Laboratories and the University of Tokyo showed that 70 per cent were interested in space t
