Dec 25th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Space Tourists airs tonight on the Documentary Channel at 8pm & 11pm
When Anousheh Ansari boarded the International Space Station on September 20th, 2006, she became the first self-funded female, the first Iranian citizen, and the fourth human overall to enter the Earth's orbit as a coveted 'space tourist'.
After building and selling a large telecom business, Ansari had ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Space Tourism posts
Space Tourists: a cinematic journey to the ISS (w/ Audio Interview)
Dec 25th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Space Tourists airs tonight on the Documentary Channel at 8pm & 11pm
When Anousheh Ansari boarded the International Space Station on September 20th, 2006, she became the first self-funded female, the first Iranian citizen, and the fourth human overall to enter the Earth's orbit as a coveted 'space tourist'.
After building and selling a large telecom business, Ansari had ...Dirt-Road Driving To Explore Spaceport America
Sep 9th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
In the wilderness of New Mexico, set in the dry, scrubby desert under a crystalline pale blue sky, is a construction site with a bombastic and cartoonish name, incomplete but already a monument to the hubris of interstellar exploration or maybe to tax-payer financed public-private partnerships of indeterminate future success.
Spaceport America, a beautiful collection of Googie-inspired ...Space junk is out of control, scientists say
Sep 2nd, 2011 at 2:00PM: It's a dilemma faced by every adventure traveler: to find the perfect remote spot untouched by modernity, free from cell phones, television, and trash. Of course there is no such place, not even in space. In fact, the orbital detritus of modern life can be downright dangerous, scientists warn.
A new report from the National Research Council says there are so many bits of trash in orbit, ranging ...Forgotten space pioneer: 50th anniversary Alan Shepard's historic flight
May 5th, 2011 at 9:30AM: Fifty years ago today Alan B. Shepard Jr., became the first American in space when he flew in the Freedom 7 mission. He got 116.5 miles up and his flight lasted 15 minutes, 28 seconds. He made history, but has been generally forgotten.
Why? Because he was the second man in space. Yuri Gagarin made it into space 23 days earlier and won the second round of the US-Soviet space race. The Soviets ...Space tourism celebrates tenth anniversary
Apr 30th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Space tourism is ten years old this week. On 28 April 2001 millionaire Dennis Tito became the first person to go into space as a tourist and not an astronaut or scientist.
In an interview with BBC today he talked about how thrilled he was and called his eight days being in orbit "paradise."
While space tourism is the ultimate in high-cost adventure travel--only seven people have done it so ...Virgin Galactic sets sights on orbital spaceflight
Dec 16th, 2010 at 4:30PM:
The stakes in the commercial space race just got a little loftier. Today, Virgin Galactic officially announced plans to team up with two U.S companies in pursuit of developing a commercial manned orbital spacecraft.
Backed by fearless entrepreneur Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic has chosen to support Sierra Nevada Space Systems (SNC) and Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) under NASA's ...NASA wants hypersonic plane, puts aside $15 million
Nov 5th, 2010 at 1:30PM: If NASA gets its way, layovers will become a thing of the past. It has plans in the works to develop hypersonic jets that would surpass the speed of sound by a factor of five. What's the implication? Well, you get on a plane in New York and get off in Sydney a mere two and a half hours later. That's a cut from the current flight duration of 21 hours, according to The Daily Mail. In addition to ...First craft lands at Spaceport America (Exclusive Video)
Oct 26th, 2010 at 8:30AM:
The future of travel is one step closer to taking off. Last Friday, Spaceport America officially dedicated its recently completed tarmac by welcoming two craft to land in front of a large crowd of Spaceport officials, future astronauts, and press.
Gadling was on-site to witness history as Virgin Galactic's spaceship VSS Enterprise, carried by mothership White Knight II, made a dramatic ...Curacao and St. Maarten become autonomous countries: what it means for travelers
Oct 15th, 2010 at 3:00PM: Get ready for two new passport stamps: the former Netherlands Antilles has dissolved, and Curaçao and St. Maarten are now autonomous countries. Smaller islands such as Bonaire will now become Dutch municipalities. Aruba, the biggest of the ABC islands, has been a similarly autonomous state since 1986. It's not a major status change for residents, as Curaçao has been self-governing ...Virgin Galactic's spaceship Enterprise flies first solo run
Oct 11th, 2010 at 9:30AM:
The world is one step closer to the era of space tourism after an historic flight in the Mojave desert yesterday.
Virgin Galactic's spaceship Enterprise took its first solo flight, detaching from the mothership Eve and landing on its own power.
Enterprise can carry six passengers and two crew. The mothership Eve carries Enterprise up into the sky before the Enterprise detaches and ignites ...Virgin Galactic launcher delayed
Oct 2nd, 2010 at 1:00PM:
We've covered space tourism company Virgin Galactic a lot here on Gadling. What hasn't gotten so much discussion is LauncherOne, a rocket that would take off from the WhiteKnightTwo mother ship, the same ship that carries SpaceshipTwo. While SpaceShipTwo is a space plane that would detach from the mother ship and fly into the high atmosphere, LauncherOne is a more conventional rocket that would ...Space travel destination: Gliese 581g
Oct 1st, 2010 at 5:00PM: Okay, so the name isn't as sexy as "St. Tropez" or "Bora Bora." But, you have to admit that "Gliese 581g" does get your imagination going. Why is this such an inspiring destination? Well, it's the first potentially habitable planet that's been found! You'd actually have a shot at living there. So, as talk of space travel continues to gain momentum – regardless of how much it may remain in ...Moscow-based company to create an orbiting hotel for space tourists
Sep 29th, 2010 at 2:00PM: Seems like the booking of space tourism isn't that far off.
According to the Associated Press, Moscow-based Orbital Technologies announced its bid to help drive tourism to outer space by building an orbiting hotel in space.
The planned Commercial Space Station can serve as a tourism hub for travelers, and also provide accommodations for astronauts and cosmonauts working on the International ...Boeing enters the space tourism market
Sep 17th, 2010 at 11:30AM: Aerospace giant Boeing announced on Wednesday that it is entering the space tourism market by selling extra seats on future flights to the International Space Station. The company has developed a "space taxi" that will shuttle astronauts to the ISS once NASA officially retires the Space Shuttle sometime next year, and is partnering with Space Adventures, a company that has a history in organizing ...Space tourism one step closer with Virgin Galactic's first manned flight
Jul 18th, 2010 at 9:00AM:
The VSS Enterprise, also known as SpaceShipTwo, has taken its first crewed flight. It stayed in the air for six hours attached to its mother ship, the VMS Eve. Two crew members stayed aboard and conducted systems tests. This is the latest aviation milestone in an active month that saw the first overnight flight by a solar airplane and the first unmanned solar plane to fly for a whole week.
...Space tourism already getting cheaper!
May 14th, 2010 at 8:00AM: Space tourism may still be a few years from taking off (pun fully intended!) but competition is already bringing the price down dramatically. According to this story from MSNBC, a company known as Space Adventures has partnered with Armadillo Aerospace to make space tourism relatively affordable. In this case, "affordable" means $102,000, which is almost half the cost of rival Virgin Galactic's ...Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo (Photos)
Dec 8th, 2009 at 9:00AM:
December 7th, 2009; there's a good chance it won't be remembered as a milestone in history. But it can certainly be marked as a major stepping stone in the human endeavor of space exploration.
At roughly 5.30pm on Monday evening, Richard Branson, Burt Rutan, Governor Schwarzenegger and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson proudly rolled out Virgin Galactic's first test flight ready spacecraft. ...Virgin Galactic preps SpaceShipTwo
Dec 2nd, 2009 at 1:30PM: Virgin Galactic continues its march toward bringing space tourism to the (wealthy) masses and is reportedly putting the finishing touches on SpaceShipTwo, the vehicle that will take adventurous, and well heeled, travelers into sub-orbit. According to this story from the Telegraph, test flights are scheduled to begin in early 2010, with regular flights getting underway in 2012.
SpaceShipTwo is ...Gadlinks for Wednesday 9.2.09
Sep 2nd, 2009 at 5:30PM: Buenos dias, Gadlingers. I want to apologize for my brief absence over the weekend. I was lodging in Colca Canyon, the world´s deepest canyon, and was therefore unavailable to post my usual Gadlinks. Fortunately, Aaron´s been holding the fort. Here now is today´s dose of Gadlinks, a quick whirl around the travel blogosphere.
Speaking of Latin America, check out this ...NASA focused on commercial space travel
Aug 11th, 2009 at 3:00PM: Crossing oceans isn't enough for you? Well, NASA is working to scratch the most extreme of travel itches. The organization is putting $50 million of economic stimulus cash from the feds into putting the average traveler into space. Companies eager to develop a commercial space vehicle have 45 days to submit their proposals, and the winner will be announced by the end of September.
The program ...
