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If you've got a lust for space travel, a desire to go where only a couple of dozen people have gone before, and $150 million to spare, Space Adventures needs you. More »
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Travel has long had an environmental cost: gasoline, jet fuel, spandex pants for bicycling. With space tourism soon to become a common occurrence, what will be the environmental price? More »
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Tonight marks a historic event: Virgin Galactic will unveil SpaceShipTwo, the first crewed commercial spaceship set to fly the extraterrestrial skies, at the Mojave Air and Spaceport. Get a sneak peek at the ship before its debut. [Gizmodo] More »
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The Galactic Suite Space Resort is scheduled to open its doors in 2012, and is already taking reservations. And there's more to your space vacation than watching the world go by; there's also wall-climbing fun and tropical island time. More »
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Thus far, orbital skydiving has been the province of Star Trek and Starship Troopers, but new technological advances that deal with the heat of reentry could make orbital skydiving the next extreme sport. More »
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Never mind the thrill of commercial flights into orbit, the true excitement of Virgin Galactic's plan to make spaceflight open to the world will be the new way their crafts use to get there, apparently. More »
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Got an extra $100K burning a hole in your pocket? You could be one of the first space tourists to travel up in this new bubble-shaped sub-orbital vessel, which accords travelers a 360 degree view of space. The state of New Mexico is partnering with two firms to create the vessels, and this is one possible design. Armadillo Aerospace, which is known for creating prototypes of new vehicle designs quickly, hopes to have a prototype done by 2009 and flights could start in 2010. [New Scientist] More »
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When file-sharing destroys the movie biz, at least special effects designers will still have work — in the aerospace industry. Orbital Outfitters, the first company to manufacture special pressurized spacesuits for civilians, is hiring special effects designers from Hollywood to help. This swanky suit that you see here, created with help from special effects maven Chris Gilman for Orbital Outfitters, may be worn by passengers on XCOR Aeorospace's suborbital jets. Apparently Gilman's skills designing knight-in-armor costumes is going to help with the design of a suit that you could use in an emergency to eject from a suborbital ship and reenter the atmosphere. More »
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Say what you will about Sir Richard Branson — at least he uses his billions to help other people have fun, not just himself. That's the quality that makes him the prime funder behind space tourism, a brand new phenomenon that will let regular folk head to the stars for the first time. Well, regular folk with 200 grand up their sleeves, that is. After the recent unveiling of Branson's Virgin Mothership, we have to ask: Exactly how far are these new space tourists going, and does Paris Hilton's Virgin Galactic ticket really make her equal to the likes of Yuri Gagarin? More »
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We love a good science fiction story, but sometimes reality is just as strange. While we may have seen 2001 come and go without an actual space odyssey, the last eight years have been full of events that - had they not actually happened - could easily pass for science fiction. Here are five real life events that still seem like they've come straight from the set-up of a big budget summer blockbuster. More »
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Here's the new SpaceShipTwo, unveiled today by space tourist pioneer Burt Rutan. Like SpaceShipOne, the new ship will ferry tourists to the edge of space on Virgin Galactic, Sir Richard Branson's new venture. 2008 will be "the year of the spaceship," promised Branson. WhiteKnightTwo, a four-engine plane, lifts the spaceship high into the sky, and then it burns a mixture of nitrous oxide and rubber-based fuel to make it up to the black. Click through for a video of SpaceShipOne, the original Virgin Galactic ship. More »
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Space tourism company Rocketplane Kistler wants their customers to fly in style. Last year, they collaborated with JAXA to hold a space fashion contest in Tokyo. Space Style 2007, a fashion event held by the California Space Authority late last year, brought these designs stateside as part of an interplanetary runway show. (Rumor has it that some of designers showed up on spaceships from unknown places of origin.) More pictures from the event after the jump. More »
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