Space Tourism | SpaceNext50 | Encyclopedia Britannica

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What steps did the world take?</p> <span>View the Timeline</span> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="megamenu-panel" id="megamenu-2"> <div class="container"> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Architect of Chinese space program</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/qian-xuesen/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/qian-xuesen-hero-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Qian Xuesen</h3> <p>Qian Xuesen was a Chinese engineer and research scientist widely recognized as the “father of Chinese aerospace” for his role in establishing China’s ballistic missile program.</p> <span>Discover this engineer pioneer</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Paving the way for women</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/valentina-tereshkova/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-5-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Valentina Tereshkova</h3> <p>Valentina Tereshkova, Soviet cosmonaut, was the first woman to travel into space.</p> <span>Read about the first </span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>First Chinese in Space</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/yang-liwei/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/09/liwei-hero2-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Yang Liwei</h3> <p>Yang Liwei is a Chinese astronaut and the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program.</p> <span>Read more about the first from China</span> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="megamenu-panel" id="megamenu-3"> <div class="container"> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Extraordinary Leaps </h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/spacex/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/06/spacex-hero-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>SpaceX</h3> <p>SpaceX is an American aerospace company founded in 2002 that helped usher in the era of commercial spaceflight.</p> <span>Learn more</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>What is Space Tourism</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/space-tourism/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/space-tourism-hero-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Space Tourism</h3> <p>Space tourism is recreational space travel, either on established government-owned vehicles or on a growing number of vehicles fielded by private companies. </p> <span>Would you go into space</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>What it means to send a signal</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/satellite-telecommunications/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/3000x1170-Space-Quiz-Heros-14-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Satellite Telecommunications</h3> <p>Engineers developed a design for a satellite that would operate in geostationary orbit. </p> <span>Read about its origin</span> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="megamenu-panel" id="megamenu-4"> <div class="container"> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Space Exploration</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/space-exploration-quiz/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/space-exploration-quiz-hero-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Space Exploration Quiz</h3> <p>Was Australia the last continent to be discovered? Who was the first human to orbit Earth? From treks through the South Pole to launches into space, test your knowledge of human exploration in this quiz.</p> <span>Take Your Best Shot</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Moon Vs Asteroid</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/moon-vs-asteroid-quiz/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/moon-v-asteroid-quiz-hero-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>This or That? Moon vs. Asteroid</h3> <p>So you’ve got the planets down pat—let’s see if you know your moons. Are these astronomical bodies moons or asteroids?</p> <span>What do you know?</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Small Step, Giant Leap</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/small-step-giant-leap-fact-or-fiction/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/small-step-quiz-hero-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Small Step, Giant Leap: Fact or Fiction?</h3> <p>Is the Moon the only object in the solar system to have craters? Take a "giant leap"—or a "small step"—and learn more about the Moon in this quiz.</p> <span>Test your knowledge</span> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="megamenu-panel" id="megamenu-5"> <div class="container"> <div class="mega-column mega-info"> <h4> Did you know?</h4> <div class="megamenu-ghost"> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <p>An estimated 650 Million people watched Armstrong’s televised image and heard his voice describe the event as he took “…one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” on July 20, 1969.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1078 size-thumbnail" src="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/moon-landing-hero-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/moon-landing-hero-150x150.jpg 150w, https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/moon-landing-hero-300x300.jpg 300w, https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/moon-landing-hero-600x600.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Watch The New Space Race</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/video-spacerace/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/08/spacerace-hero-1-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Video-SpaceRace</h3> <p>From India to China, the space race is expanding. Take a few minutes to explore videos from around the globe. </p> <span>Watch on</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class="mega-column mega-feature"> <h4>Watch Moon Landing History</h4> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/video-moonlanding/" class="megamenu-feature"> <div class="megamenu-thumb" style="background-image: url('https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/07/0000138702-300x300.jpg');"></div> <div class="megamenu-excerpt"> <h3>Video-Moonlanding</h3> <p>Watch history unfold. This page highlights stories told in video from Apollo 11 Liftoff to faking the moon landing.</p> <span>Watch on</span> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </header> <main class="main"> <article id="post-606"> <div class="hero"> <img width="3000" height="1175" src="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/space-tourism-hero.jpg" class="hero-blurred wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/space-tourism-hero.jpg 3000w, https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/space-tourism-hero-768x301.jpg 768w, https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/space-tourism-hero-1024x401.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 3000px) 100vw, 3000px" /><img width="3000" height="1175" src="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/space-tourism-hero.jpg" class="hero-featured wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" srcset="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/space-tourism-hero.jpg 3000w, https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/space-tourism-hero-768x301.jpg 768w, https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/05/space-tourism-hero-1024x401.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 3000px) 100vw, 3000px" /> </div> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="content col-12"> <h1 class="entry-title"><span>Space Tourism</span></h1> <header class="entry-meta"> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/category/space-business/" class="cat-link"><span class="cat-icon"><img src="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/09/icon-pie-chart.png" /></span><span class="cat-label">Space Business</span></a> <span>·</span>Recreational space travel <div class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_34 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/space-tourism/" data-a2a-title="Space Tourism"><a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fexplore.britannica.com%2Fexplore%2Fspace%2Fspace-tourism%2F&linkname=Space%20Tourism" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fexplore.britannica.com%2Fexplore%2Fspace%2Fspace-tourism%2F&linkname=Space%20Tourism" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_linkedin" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/linkedin?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fexplore.britannica.com%2Fexplore%2Fspace%2Fspace-tourism%2F&linkname=Space%20Tourism" title="LinkedIn" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fexplore.britannica.com%2Fexplore%2Fspace%2Fspace-tourism%2F&linkname=Space%20Tourism" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a></div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p class="has-drop-cap"><strong>Space tourism</strong>, recreational space travel, either on established government-owned vehicles such as the Russian <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/Soyuz">Soyuz</a> and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/International-Space-Station">International Space Station</a> (ISS) or on a growing number of vehicles fielded by private companies. Since the flight of the world’s first space tourist, American businessman <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dennis-Tito">Dennis Tito</a>, on April 28, 2001, space tourism has gained new prominence as more suborbital and orbital tourism opportunities have become available.</p> <div class="ad-unit ad-leaderboard acf/ad-billboard" id="adunit-block_5cde91f981025"> <div class="ad-wrapper">  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1559336014061-0' style='height:90px; width:728px;' class="none block-l"> <script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1559336014061-0'); });</script> </div> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1559336092597-0' style='height:50px; width:320px;' class="block none-l"> <script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1559336092597-0'); });</script> </div> </div> </div> <h3>Orbital space tourism</h3> <p>The advent of space <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/tourism">tourism</a> occurred at the end of the 1990s with a deal between the Russian company MirCorp and the American company Space Adventures Ltd. MirCorp was a private venture in charge of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/space-station">space station</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mir-Soviet-Russian-space-station">Mir</a>. To generate income for maintenance of the aging space station, MirCorp decided to sell a trip to Mir, and Tito became its first paying passenger. However, before Tito could make his trip, the decision was made to deorbit Mir, and—after the intervention of Space Adventures Ltd.—the mission was diverted to the ISS. Tito, who paid $20 million for his flight on the Russian <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/spacecraft">spacecraft</a> Soyuz TM-32, spent seven days on board the ISS and is considered the world’s first space tourist. However, given the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arduous">arduous</a> training required for his mission, Tito objected to the use of the word <em>tourist</em>, and since his flight the term <em>spaceflight participant</em> has been more often used to distinguish commercial space travelers from career <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/astronaut">astronauts</a>.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator" /> <p style="text-align:center"><strong>See related: <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/outer-space-treaty/">Outer Space Treaty</a></strong></p> <hr class="wp-block-separator" /> <p>Orbital space tourism continued to grow following Tito’s mission, with flights to the ISS by South African computer millionaire <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mark-Shuttleworth">Mark Shuttleworth</a> in 2002 and American businessman <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gregory-Olsen">Gregory Olsen</a> in 2005. These travelers were followed by Iranian-born American <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entrepreneur">entrepreneur</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anousheh-Ansari">Anousheh Ansari</a>, who became the fourth spaceflight participant and the first female fee-paying space traveler when she visited the ISS in September 2006. The following year American billionaire <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Simonyi">Charles Simonyi</a> joined the ranks of spaceflight participants when he shared a ride with two cosmonauts on board <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Soyuz-TMA-10">Soyuz TMA-10</a> for a 10-day stay on the ISS. The sixth spaceflight participant, American <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/electronic-game">video game</a> developer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Garriott">Richard Garriott</a>, was launched in October 2008. In making his flight, Garriott became the first second-generation American in space, since his father, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Owen-K-Garriott">Owen Garriott</a>, was a former <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/astronaut">astronaut</a>. (Cosmonauts <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aleksandr-Volkov">Aleksandr Volkov</a> and his son <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sergey-Volkov">Sergey</a> were the first father-and-son space travelers. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sergey-Volkov">Sergey Volkov</a> was on the ISS when Garriott arrived.) No spaceflight participants have flown to the ISS since Canadian entrepreneur Guy Laliberte in 2009, but Space Adventures announced that two passengers will fly to the ISS in 2021. Since 2007 Space Adventures has offered a spaceflight around the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Moon">Moon</a> on a Soyuz spacecraft for a fee of $100 million.</p> <div class="wp-block-ugb-count-up ugb-countup ugb-countup--v3 ugb-countup--columns-1 ugb--background-opacity-5"><div class="ugb-content-wrapper"><div class="ugb-countup__item"><h4 class="ugb-countup__title">SInce 2007</h4><div class="ugb-countup__counter" style="font-size:56px;font-weight:400" data-duration="1000" data-delay="16">$100M</div><p class="ugb-countup__description">Space Adventures has offered a spaceflight around the Moon on a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Soyuz-TMA-10">Soyuz</a> spacecraft for this fee.</p></div></div></div> <h3>Suborbital space tourism</h3> <p>Although the orbital space tourism <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/industry">industry</a> garnered much media attention following Tito’s flight, other companies were also hard at work trying to make space tourism a profitable proposition by developing suborbital vehicles designed to take spassengers to an altitude of 100 km (62 miles). In addition to the goal of making space tourism commercially viable, the companies were competing for the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ansari-X-Prize">Ansari X Prize</a>, a $10 million reward offered by the X Prize Foundation to the first <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/nongovernmental-organization">non governmental organization</a> to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. (A portion of the prize money was donated by Anousheh Ansari and her brother-in-law, Iranian-born American entrepreneur Amir Ansari.) On October 4, 2004, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/SpaceShipOne">SpaceShipOne</a>, funded by Virgin Galactic and designed by American engineer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Burt-Rutan">Burt Rutan</a> of Scaled Composites, won the X Prize and, in doing so, ushered in a new era of commercial manned spaceflight and space tourism.</p> <p>In 2004 the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act (CSLAA) provided guidelines for regulating the safety of commercial human <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/spaceflight">spaceflight</a> in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States">United States</a> under the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/auspices">auspices</a> of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Federal-Aviation-Administration">Federal Aviation Administration</a> (FAA). Under the CSLAA, FAA representatives will attend every launch, evaluate every landing, and work alongside the space tourism operators; however, the FAA will not be permitted to impose any safety regulations until 2023 unless there is a serious incident. The guidelines require space tourism operators to inform spaceflight participants in writing about the risks of launch and reentry and about the safety record of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/launch-vehicle">launch vehicle</a>. The CSLAA guidelines also require spaceflight participants to provide informed consent to participate in launch and reentry.</p> <div class="ad-unit ad-leaderboard acf/ad-billboard" id="adunit-block_5d0b0898ad09a"> <div class="ad-wrapper">  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1559336037744-0' style='height:90px; width:728px;' class="none block-l"> <script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1559336037744-0'); });</script> </div> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1559336116002-0' style='height:50px; width:320px;' class="block none-l"> <script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1559336116002-0'); });</script> </div> </div> </div> <p>At this early stage in the development of the suborbital space tourism industry, it is difficult for the FAA to control how companies design their vehicles or to assess the safety of launching spaceflight participants into space. Despite safety concerns and a crash during a 2014 test flight that cost the life of copilot Michael Alsbury, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Virgin-Galactic">Virgin Galactic</a> sold more than 300 seats at $300,000 each for its suborbital space tourism flights, which are scheduled to begin in 2019. Carrying Virgin Galactic’s spaceflight participants into space will be <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/SpaceShipTwo">SpaceShipTwo</a>, which will be launched from a permanent spaceport near Upham, New Mexico.</p> <div class="wp-block-ugb-count-up ugb-countup ugb-countup--v3 ugb-countup--columns-3 ugb--background-opacity-5"><div class="ugb-content-wrapper"><div class="ugb-countup__item"><div class="ugb-countup__counter" style="color:#000000;font-size:42px;font-weight:400" data-duration="1000" data-delay="16">300</div><p class="ugb-countup__description" style="color:#000000">number of seats Virgin Galactic sold for its space tourism flights</p></div><div class="ugb-countup__item"><div class="ugb-countup__counter" style="color:#000000;font-size:42px;font-weight:400" data-duration="1000" data-delay="16">$300,000</div><p class="ugb-countup__description" style="color:#000000">price of seats sold for Virgin Galactic’s suborbital flights</p></div><div class="ugb-countup__item"><div class="ugb-countup__counter" style="color:#000000;font-size:42px;font-weight:400" data-duration="1000" data-delay="16">2004</div><p class="ugb-countup__description" style="color:#000000"> The year the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act (CSLAA), which provided guidelines for regulating the safety of commercial human <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/spaceflight">spaceflight</a>, was passed </p></div></div></div> <p>Virgin Galactic is not alone in its interest in space tourism, an industry that may prove to be especially lucrative in the 21st century. In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Texas-state">Texas</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Blue-Origin">Blue Origin</a>, a privately funded aerospace company set up by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Amazoncom">Amazon.com</a> founder <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jeff-Bezos">Jeff Bezos</a>, has developed its New Shepard spacecraft (named for American astronaut <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alan-B-Shepard-Jr">Alan Shepard</a>). With its bullet-shaped fuselage, New Shepard is designed to take off and land vertically, in contrast to the mother-ship deployment of SpaceShipTwo.</p> <p>As the space tourism industry evolves, the ranks of spaceflight participants will grow, and suborbital and orbital flights will inevitably give way to lunar excursions and trips to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Mars-planet">Mars</a> and beyond, by which time space tourism will be operating as a full-fledged industry capable of truly opening the frontier of space.</p> <div class="ad-unit ad-leaderboard acf/ad-billboard" id="adunit-block_5cde921481026"> <div class="ad-wrapper">  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1559336062163-0' style='height:90px; width:728px;' class="none block-l"> <script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1559336062163-0'); });</script> </div> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1559336141448-0' style='height:50px; width:320px;' class="block none-l"> <script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1559336141448-0'); });</script> </div> </div> </div> <p><em><strong>Written by </strong><a href="https://www.britannica.com/contributor/Erik-Seedhouse/6835"><strong>Erik Seedhouse</strong></a><strong> </strong></em>and <em><strong><a href="https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></strong></em>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <aside class="row"> <div class="col-12 col-2-3-m"> <div class="entry-related"> <h4 class="color-default">More Articles on business</h4> <ul class="list-block list-rules"> <li> <img width="370" height="280" src="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/06/spacex-hero-370x280.jpg" class="attachment-list size-list wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" /> <div> <a href="https://explore.britannica.com/explore/space/spacex/" title="SpaceX">SpaceX</a> <p>SpaceX is an American aerospace company founded 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