Space Tourism

Space tourism over the next 50 years will be a unique, expensive proposition, Spencer said. As the industry grows, we will have hundreds of thousands of people going and costs will go down. In 2001, U.S. financier Dennis Tito became the first space tourist when he rode in a Soyuz capsule to visit the international space station. Mark Shuttleworth, a South African businessman, made a similar trip in 2002. Space tourism is tourism in which participants pay for flights into space. As of 2010, orbital space tourism opportunities are limited and expensive, with only the Russian Space Agency providing transport.