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Space tourism companies reaching for the stars
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-03-14 09:11 Will our grandchildren spend their vacations on
the moon, or their honeymoons in a hotel orbiting Mars? A few dreamers at the
International Tourism Fair say space tours for average travelers could come
sooner than we think.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are rumored to have booked tickets on Richard
Branson's Virgin Galactic Spaceship which is due for lift-off in 2010. But
experts at the ITB in Berlin said space travel may also one day be within reach
for mere mortals.
"If you have 20 million dollars lying around, there is a spot available in
April next year," Dieter Isakeit of the manned flight division of the European
Space Agency said, noting the still astronomical cost for amateur astronauts.
US millionaire Dennis Tito laid down that amount in 2001 to become the first
galactic tourist, spending a week on the International Space Station (ISS).
But few are able to pay such princely sums to realize their dream -- a
Japanese man became only the fourth holidaymaker in space last September.
But more modest -- and radically cheaper -- trips could become available in
the foreseeable future.
Professor Robert Goehlich of Keio University in Yokohama, Japan said that
short suborbital flights, which would make it possible to experience a few
weightless minutes, could be a reality within 15 years.
Flights that take passengers into spatial orbit for a few hours could be a
niche market in 25 years, he added.
However the next step, a true holiday in space, is a more distant fantasy,
not only for financial reasons.
A model space hotel on display in Berlin shows that comfort when travelers
are afloat in the Milky Way will be hard to find.
The module, designed for use on the ISS, is comprised of four tiny cabins
with berths for couples, a common room and a very basic bathroom.
Its developer, Dirk Schumann, said the package could be had at a price of two
million dollars per person per week.
The other concern is safety.
"The Achilles' heel of the shuttles today is that they do not allow the crew
to be ejected in case of major damage," German astronaut Ulf Merbold said.
"The space station is not like a plane in which the cockpit is separate from
the passengers' cabin. It is as if people in a hospital could walk in and out of
the operating room during a heart operation," Isakeit added.
And it will also take some time before Mars and Saturn start appearing as
destinations in tour catalogues. The length of the journey is so prohibitive
that it would take new propulsion technology to make manned travel to the major
planets even a remote possibility.
But for those too impatient to wait, there are options.
The travel group European Space Tourist is offering four-day trips to the
Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City east of Moscow with zero-gravity
simulation flights. The experience can be yours for just 5,000 euros (6,000
dollars).
"The demand is growing all the time," proprietor Thomas Kraus said, saying
that companies seeking a unique gift were particularly intrigued.
Certain inconveniences associated with space, however, will probably never
improve.
European Space Tourist sells food developed by NASA on the Internet including
packets of dried fruits.
The rest, "sounds good on the menu but on the plate it has a gelatinous
consistency that is much less appetizing," Goehlich said.
"This artificial colony on the space station is incredibly lacking compared
to the quality of life on earth," Merbold said.
"There are much more comfortable places than a shuttle to spend a honeymoon"
or hold a wedding. "You cannot kiss the bride with a space-suit helmet on."
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