It's not all that difficult to imagine, given the technological progression and increasing accessibility since man's first "timid penetration beyond the confines of the atmosphere," as cosmonautic patriarch Konstantin Tsiolkovsky forebode a century ago.
The Jetsons' concept of every average George and Jane scooting around in private saucers was probably inevitable from the launch of the first satellite, Sputnik, in 1957. What followed were decades of space-based machismo between Russia and the United States, one incredible moon landing and a bevy of science fiction that almost made space tourism passe. Almost.
The Most Expensive Walk You'll Ever Take
Since you already wrote a check equivalent to the gross domestic product of a small country to see the Earth as so few have seen it, you may as well go all out. For another $15 million, you can stay on the International Space Station for five days to be trained and certified for an "Extravehicular Activity," otherwise called a spacewalk. For 90 minutes, you will be out in the nothingness of space, realizing exactly how small you really are. You also may be given some menial task to make you feel important and take your mind off of the thought that you're only one "everything going terribly wrong" away from drifting off helplessly into deep space.
If this still isn't enough for you and you've just won Mega Millions, inquire about Space Adventure's mission planned for 2017. It might sound like fiction, but they're planning a circumlunar flight that will be the first human trip to the moon since 1972. As a bonus, you'll get to do the Jim Lovell/Tom Hanks trick of hiding the Earth and "everything you've ever known" under your thumb from 240,000 miles away. The mission provides space for two commercial passengers at a price of $300 million, which is shocking in and of itself until you hear that someone has already reserved one of the seats. We're going to guess they probably also called "shotgun."
Space on a Budget
Not every trip into space requires an eight-figure financial hemorrhage. One can still experience the wonders of weightlessness and looking out into black space and bright stars at a fraction of the price. Well, as long as you keep in mind how large the figure is we're taking a fraction of.
Space Adventure's subsidiary, Zero Gravity, offers what most people would consider the most horrifying plane ride of their life. And more than 7,000 people have paid about $5,000 to take this fear-inducing plunge. A modified Boeing 727 climbs at a 45 degree angle to 34,000 feet before reversing course and hurtling toward the ground. Each "parabola" provides about 30 seconds of weightlessness.
To "slip the surly bonds of Earth" and truly experience space comes with the next price bracket up. Space Adventures has partnered with Armadillo Aerospace to provide suborbital spaceflights at a price of $102,000 per ticket, with more than 200 tickets already reserved.
Source : Fox news
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