July 24, 2000
Vacationing in Space
Tidbit Archive
| Space tourism is coming. Dennis Tito, former NASA engineer
and current multi- millionaire, has signed up with MirCorp,
a commercial firm that is leasing the Russian Mir space station, to spend
10 days on Mir in 2001. Tito founded Wilshire
Associates in Santa Monica, CA, in the 1970s. The firm is a pioneer
in the application of computers to investment management consulting and
now manages $10 billion in assets. Prior to announcing Tito's planned
flight, MirCorp, which is partly owned by the Russian company RSC Energia,
sent two Russian cosmonauts to Mir on a 73 day long mission to refurbish
the aging space station.
Tito is far from the only private citizen who wants to take a trip into space. Although space exploration no longer attracts the kind of public attention (and government funding!) that it did in the heyday of the Apollo Program, millions of people eagerly follow the news about space travel and many of them undoubtedly share Dennis Tito's dream of going into space. For most, the (literally) astronomical cost will be a barrier, at least for the foreseeable future. But, for those who have the money and who would rather spend it on a trip into space than, say, running for the U.S. Senate, the prospects of vacationing in space during the coming decade look pretty good. |
Links:MirCorp's home page. See the June 19, 2000 press release about its "Citizen Explorer" program and Dennis Tito. If you are a multi-millionaire and want to go into orbit soon, this is probably your best bet.
"American Megamillionaire Gets Russki Space Heap," a profile of Walter Anderson, founder of MirCorp, by Elizabeth Weil, The New York Times Magazine, July 23, 2000.
Space tourism page from Space Future, a site "for everyone who'd like to travel in space."
HobbySpace's space tourism page. HobbySpace describes itself as "your web guide to space hobbies and activities."
NASA Watch page on space tourism. NASA Watch is an online news service that reports on space news and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It is entirely independent of NASA.
Space Island Group -- a commercial firm that intends to build its own orbital space stations.
Spacetopia, Inc. -- a firm that "has been established to exploit the emerging market for space tourism and related services in Japan."
"Space Elevators, Space Hotels, and Space Tourism," a technical paper describing "a conceptual design for a transportation system which could be built to carry passengers into space for tourism," by "amateur rocket scientist" Nathan Wilson.
Incredible Adventures -- a firm taking reservations for future commercial flights aboard the Space Cruiser, a civilian shuttle being developed by Vela Technology Development, Inc. They also offer flights in MIG-29s, "covert operations," and other adventure travel possibilities. Gift certificates are available.
Space Adventures -- currently offering reservations for suborbital flights aboard a reusable launch vehicle under development. Flights are planned for 2003-2005.
