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Space Tourism

Astronauts are not the only people travelling to space anymore. Everyone can buy a ticket and spend their holiday in space, as long as they have the money! Read the following text about the latest trend in tourism.

Space Tourism

Make your reservations now. The space tourism industry is officially open for business, and tickets cost at least $20 million for a one-week stay in space. Despite reluctance from NASA, Russia made American businessman Dennis Tito the world’s first space tourist. Tito flew into space aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket that arrived at the International Space Station on April30, 2001. The second space tourist, South African businessman Mark Shuttleworth, took off aboard the Russian Soyuz on April 25, 2002, also bound for the ISS. Greg Olsen, an American businessman, became tourist number three to the ISS on October 1, 2005.On September 18, 2006, Anousheh Ansari, a telecommunications entrepreneur, became the first female space tourist and the fourth space tourist overall. She was also the first person of Iranian descent to make it into space. Charles Simonyi, a software architect, became the fifth space tourist on April 7, 2007.Space tourism will be one of the most lucrative industries in the 21st century. There are already several space tourism companies planning to build suborbital vehicles and orbital cities within the next two decades. These companies have invested millions, believing thatthe space tourism industry is on the verge of taking off.