Space tourism is a form of commercial travel to space. It may involve watching a rocket launch, going for a stargaze, or even travelling to a space-focused destination like the International Space Station. It could also involve suborbital flights aboard the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo as well as other reusable vehicles, such as the Blue Origin New Shepard.
The term”space traveler” has a wider space tourism definition than simply tourist and also encompasses people who are on an expedition to conduct research on a scientific subject or to provide other services. The first space tourists were Dennis Tito and other multimillionaires who paid $20 million for an excursion to the International Space Station in 2001. Since then, a variety of companies have emerged to provide different space tourism experiences.
In recent times, the majority of the companies offering space tourism are aiming to take paying passengers on flights into space with their reusable rockets. Some companies are planning to offer longer-duration flights into orbit.
To prepare for your next spaceflight, it is important to learn as much as you can about the vehicle and the flight itself. It is also essential to decide if you want to try “stupid tricks” such as flips or spinning in weightlessness. You can also take mementos with you, like pennants from your college. This is what U.S. astronauts Wally Schirra & Tom Stafford did on their Gemini VI with a “Beat Army sign”.
As space travel gains popularity, it is expected that companies will increase their fleets, and develop new spacecraft for both tourism and longer-duration trips. It is also possible that prices for these trips will fall as the business matures.