Who hasn’t dreamed of taking a trip into space, flying in the space shuttle, stopping at the International Space Station or even visiting the moon. Well space travel may soon be a reality. Although still in its infancy, space tourism is starting to take off. There are now several tour companies offering the ultimate adventure, a trip into space, even if it is only for short time.
GAP Adventures, a Canadian tour company, has three, five day space adventure tours priced from $7,900 to $27,500 Canadian ($7,766 to $27,073 US). All the tours start in Moscow, Russia. Be a Cosmonaut for a Day, train in a real space simulator and learn how to eat in space or take a Zero Gravity Adventure and experience weightlessness at 34,000 feet. The Russian Space Adventure takes you to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere where you can view the earth from above.
Star Travel, an Australian adventure company is also offering a Russian based trip into space. For only $33,000 AUD ($30,225 US) you can travel to the fringe of space in a Russian MiG-31 jet fighter. The package also includes a visit to the Monino Air Museum, hotel accommodation in Moscow, transfers and some meals.
Space Wander can take you into space from launch sites in both Russia and the USA.
You can take an Edge of Space Tour starting at $6,000 US or spend $20 million US and spend some time at the International Space Station.
Xtreme Travel and Adventures also offers Russian Space program tours. They have a Mir Space Station package that takes place in Star City, just outside of Moscow. You will spend time in the decommissioned Mir Space Station and experience what life was like in space. You can visit the Main Russian Space museum and see some of the early Russian Space modules. Take a tour out to Star City and see where the Russian astronauts train. Prices are not posted on the website.
Incredible Adventures can help you spend a Day as a Cosmonaut training in the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Put on a space suit and train in a docking simulator.
Or take one of Incredible Adventures other space adventures. Some, such as the Zero Gravity USA, are even available at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida or in Las Vegas. Prices start at $4,147 US for the Zero Gravity USA space flights.
If you happen to win the lottery you may want to try the Ultimate Orbital Space Flight. Train to be a cosmonaut and go on an actual space mission. This is a four step program that includes a comprehensive 10 day medical exam and over 4,200 hours of intensive training. The actual cost of this program could be over $15 million US but you can get started with the medical qualification phase for as little as $179,000 US.
There are several companies working towards commercial space travel. Space tourism is the wave of the future. Still in the early development stages travelers can look forward to spending time in space and even orbiting the earth in the near future. So whether you decide to take a Zero Gravity flight or train to be a cosmonaut, space travel is the ultimate tourist adventure.
