XCOR will offer suborbital flights that will reach the edge of space, about 100km above the ground. <\/p>\n
There are a number of misconceptions about space tourism, the most significant being that it doesn't exist yet. <\/p>\n
In fact, it's been around since 2001, when Dennis Tito reportedly stumped up $US20 million ($25.6 million) to tag along on the Russian Federal Space Agency's ISS EP-1 mission. The NASA rocket scientist-turned-entrepreneur spent almost eight days orbiting the earth. <\/p>\n
It won't be long until people are saying 'travelling into space is so last year'. <\/p>\n
Another widespread misapprehension is that Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is the only company offering extra-terrestrial travel. As we'll get to shortly, there is actually a healthy field of commercial space travel companies developing a diverse range of trips. <\/p>\n
An artists' impression of the World View capsule suspended from a balloon at the edge of space. Photo: World View <\/p>\n
The good news for aspiring astronauts is that it should soon be possible to travel into space for as little as $75,000. The bad news is the fare will still translate to a minimum of $250 for every minute spent aloft - and that's without even considering the inescapable dangers involved. <\/p>\n
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Commercial space travel can be divided into three categories: orbital, suborbital and what might be labelled sub-suborbital. <\/p>\n
Space tourist Dennis Tito (left) on the Russian Federal Space Agency's ISS EP-1 mission in 2001. Photo: AP <\/p>\n
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Space travel still big business, despite Virgin mishap<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" XCOR will offer suborbital flights that will reach the edge of space, about 100km above the ground. There are a number of misconceptions about space tourism, the most significant being that it doesn't exist yet. In fact, it's been around since 2001, when Dennis Tito reportedly stumped up $US20 million ($25.6 million) to tag along on the Russian Federal Space Agency's ISS EP-1 mission. Continue reading