If you want to visit America, you meet with a travel agent, who will book you a flight, accommodation and a tour to wherever you want to go. But who do you contact if you want to journey into space? If you stepped into your local travel consultancy and announced that you wanted to go up to see the stars (the twinkly ones in the sky not the Hollywood version), they would probably roll their eyes and snigger.

The space tour operator
So what exactly did Mark Shuttleworth do when he decided he wanted to break through the Earth?s atmosphere? Shuttleworth, young tecchie hotshot, South African billionaire and now a world-wide cosmonaut hero, contacted Space Adventures, the world?s leading space tourism company.

I have always envisioned that sometime during my lifetime, space travel would become a whole lot easier. We would pop off to the moon for the weekend and perhaps even shuttle out to mars for an alien party. While this may still sound like science fiction, companies like Space Adventures, are bringing space holidays into reality.

The space tourists
Dennis Tito started off the trend of becoming a space tourist; Mark Shuttleworth followed and Space Adventures helped to launch both of their dreams into orbit. The space tourism company acted as Shuttleworth's representative in negotiating his space flight contract with Rosviakosmos (the Russian space agency) and worked with the various Russian space organisations to provide comprehensive training, as well as logistical and legal support for all aspects of his flight.

I also want to go into space!
So don?t you feel just a little bit envious of Mark? Myself? I?m green with jealousy! It would be a dream come true to be able to admire our planet from way up there. Space Adventures could make that fantasy possible.

The company is optimistic that other cosmonaut-wannabe's will follow in Tito?s and Shuttleworth?s footsteps. Basically if you have the determination, resources (that?s over $20-million or R200-million), and can meet the requirements (these include good health, being able to endure zero-gravity flights and a diving certification) you may be invited to join the elite group of space explorers.

On their website, Space Adventures declare in big bold letters ? ?Train today, fly tomorrow?. But is it really that simple?

The orbital qualifications program (OQP) includes:
  • full cosmonaut medical certification
  • chartered zero gravity flight
  • MiG-25 and 29 supersonic flights
  • neutral buoyancy and Soyuz spacecraft training
  • NOMEX flight suit and leather flight jacket
  • all transfers, meals, tours, and executive suite accommodations at the five-star Sheraton Palace Hotel
  • VIP processing, guides, staff support and interpreters
    • Shuttleworth underwent about eight months of training prior to his flight, including a one-week orientation program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and two weeks of final orbital qualification at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (in Star City, Moscow). The medical examinations and qualification procedures are stringent and training sessions are physically and mentally demanding. But the reward of space flight is something completely ?out of this world?.
    Click here for a detailed itinerary of the 14-day pre-flight training in Star City.

    Air-miles for space-miles
    As an added incentive, US Airways have partnered up with Space Adventures to offer air-miles for every trip or activity booked with the space tour operator. Hopefully other airlines will follow suit.

    The cheaper space options
    But most of us don?t have one million dollars let alone 20 sitting in our bank accounts. So what is the alternative? Can we still get a sense of space right here on earth?
    Well actually, yes! In addition to actual flights into space, Space Adventures also offers a wide range of space experiences, from zero-gravity and high-altitude supersonic flights, cosmonaut training and space flight qualification programs on Earth.

    Terrestrial tours
    There are terrestrial tours during which you can explore space without ever leaving the planet. These include:

  • Shuttle Launch Tours - experiencing first-hand the thrill of a launch at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida (a steal at only $1 150 per person).
  • Dive into the vents of innerspace - You can explore the 'bottom' of the sea in submersible ($21,950.00 per diver).
  • Soyuz spaceship training - Board the Soyuz spaceship for a training session in Star City (a once in a lifetime experience for only $8,495 per person).
  • Centrifuge 'G' Training - If you?re crazy about G-force rollercoasters, then you?ll simply have to try out the world's largest centrifuge at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, which was built to generate up to 10 times the force of gravity (What a rush ? for only $1,745 per person).

    Edge of Space
    Space Adventures also offer journeys to the Edge of Space, where you board a lightening fast jet and speed up towards space and then back down to earth. This exhilarating trip will cost $12 595 per person.

    Zero gravity
    For me, one of the most fun side-effects of going into space, is being able to float. And now I don?t even have to go outside of the Earth's atmosphere to experience weightlessness.

    Space Adventures offers a zero gravity tour in which you board a specialised aircraft which accelerates in a 45 degree angle. The engines are then powered back and the plane glides over the top of the arch with just enough power to overcome air friction and drag. Everyone inside the airplane then experiences the sensation of "free-fall". Passengers sustain approximately 28-30 seconds of microgravity during the pushover. This manoeuvre is repeated 8 to 12 times during a flight. This tour includes hotel accommodation, an astronaut suit and a video of your flight and goes for the price of $5,400 per person.

    Suborbital flights
    Then, there are the suborbital flights, which is destined to put space tourism on a whole new realm and will probably revolutionise the entire industry.

    This ultimate adventure includes:
  • overnight accommodations at designated resort location, all meals and ground transportation
  • Space Adventures sub-orbital flight ticket
  • custom-fit flight training suit
  • flight training
  • commemorative flight medallion
  • personalized travel bag
  • video and photographs from your flight
  • lifetime membership to Space Adventurers Club
  • astronaut wings
    • A rocket-type aircraft called a Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) is being developed at this moment. This RLV will take passengers through the Earth?s atmosphere to 100 km above the planet. As the craft nears maximum altitude, the rocket engines will be shut down and passengers will experience up to five minutes of continuous weightlessness and see the vast blackness of space set against the blue limits of Earth below.

    The training and preparation program, which will familiarise passengers with flight operations, zero-gravity training, in-flight gravity loads, and space flight safety procedures, only lasts four days in comparison to the orbital training of eight months. In addition, this entire voyage costs $98,000 per person, which is a whole lot cheaper than $20-million.

    In essence, suborbital flights will make space odysseys way more accessible and a lot closer to my dream of holidays in space.

    Space Adventures anticipate space tourism flights aboard these RLVs will begin within the 2003-2005 timeframe. The space tour operator is also developing a U.S.-based spaceport from which sub-orbital space flights will begin operations by 2005.

    So there you have it ? a quick guide of how to experience the world beyond our planet. I don?t know about you, but I?m starting to save. Maybe in a couple of years time, I?ll have enough cash to pay Space Adventures to launch me out of the Earth?s atmosphere. To infinity and beyond, here I come!

    Become a space tourist with Space Adventures
    For more information:
    e-mail Space Adventures at info@spaceadventures.com
    click on the Space Adventures enquiry form
    check out the Space Adventures website