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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: space tourism

space tourism stories: 14 news summaries

 1st Clown 
 in Space 
 Blasts Off 

Billionaire Cirque founder will 'tickle astros' feet,' highlight water crisis

Sep 30, 09 2:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - Canadian billionaire Guy LaLiberte became the 7th paying tourist—and the first clown—in space when he blasted off early today to the International Space Station on a Soyuz spacecraft. LaLiberte, founder of Cirque de Soliel, says he plans to crack jokes and tickle the other astronauts' feet as well... More »

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space tourism • astronauts • International Space Station • space travel • Cirque du Soleil • Soyuz • Guy Laliberte

(Newser) - A Russian spacecraft carrying a cosmonaut, an astronaut, and the first two-time space tourist has docked with the International Space Station, the CBC reports. The Soyuz capsule will soon offload the two crew members and US billionaire Charles Simonyi. Simonyi will return to Earth in the same capsule on April... More »

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space tourism • astronauts • cosmonaut • International Space Station • Charles Simonyi • Soyuz • outer space

 Space Tourism 
 Blasting Off in 2011 


Trips will cost $200k

Mar 19, 09 2:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - For those bored with mere earthly trips, help is on the way. The first space tourist flights will take off in 2011 from New Mexico, reports AFP. For $200,000, an outfit run by British tycoon Richard Branson will fly tourists 70 miles above earth and then, presumably, back. Flights... More »

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space tourism

 Tourist, Crew 
 Dock at Space Station 

Garriott will perform experiments, take photos from space

Oct 14, 08 9:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - American space tourist Richard Garriott arrived safely at the International Space Station today for a 10-day visit, Space.com reports. “I can fly!” Garriott told Russia’s command center, where former NASA astronaut and dad Owen watched his son become the first second-generation space-traveler. Also aboard the Soyuz... More »

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space tourism • space • International Space Station • Russian Space Agency

Space Tourist Video Gamer Blasts Off

Son of NASA astronaut hitches ride on Russian rocket for $35M

Oct 12, 08 4:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - US video game magnate Richard Garriott blasted off into space today aboard a Russian rocket—and all it cost him was $35 million. The "space tourist" was cheered on by his father, a one-time NASA astronaut, Reuters reports. "I can see he is really enjoying it like a... More »

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space tourism

Private Firms Hope to Haul NASA's Space Cargo

And US agency wants their help

Sep 25, 08 1:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hauling crew and equipment between earth and the international space station is expensive work, and NASA is looking to private entrepreneurs to pick up some of the slack, the Washington Post reports. Among the front-runners is Elon Musk, a founder of Paypal, who has seen his three prototype shuttles crash... More »

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Russia • NASA • entrepreneurs • space exploration • space tourism • International Space Station • PayPal

 Branson's Aircraft:
 Beyond Space Tourism

Applications include satelites, drones and studying climate change

Aug 3, 08 11:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Though space tourism is an exciting feat in itself, it’s just the beginning of the possibilities for Virgin Galactic’s White Knight Two, the Economist notes. The carbon-composite plane doubles as a spaceship’s first stage, and is capable of launching satellites, transporting replacement engines, and facilitating... More »

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climate change • Richard Branson • space tourism • Virgin Galactic • space travel • Burt Rutan • adventure travel

 Branson Rolls Out 
 Space Plane 

Craft could make first commercial flight—at $200K per ticket—by decade's end

Jul 28, 08 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - At a remote airfield in the Mojave Desert today, Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson unveiled the flagship of his new venture, an aircraft that will carry the first passenger space rocket to its launch height of 48,000 feet, the Los Angeles Times reports. Tickets are going for $200,000-plus,... More »

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Richard Branson • space tourism • Virgin Galactic • press conference • space travel • Burt Rutan • adventure travel

Google's Brin
Books Flight to
Space Station

Company co-founder puts $5M deposit on 2011 launch

Jun 11, 08 9:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Google co-founder Sergey Brin is turning space tourist, plunking down a $5 million deposit with Space Adventures for passage to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in 2011, reports the New York Times. Space Adventures is planning to buy two of the three seats aboard the mission,... More »

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NASA • Google • Sergey Brin • space tourism • International Space Station • Space Adventures

 Space Tourism Gets 
 New 2-Seater 

Calif. company is second aiming to take passengers to new heights

Mar 27, 08 11:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - California's XCor Aerospace is jumping aboard the space-tourism bandwagon with a new rocket plane, the Los Angeles Times reports. For $100,000, one passenger at a time will be able to ride the Lynx to 200,000 feet and feel about 90 seconds of weightlessness. With flight tests beginning in... More »

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Richard Branson • space tourism • Virgin Galactic • Scaled Composites • Burt Rutan • Xcor • Jeff Greason

Space Tours to Northern Lights

Virgin Galactic to offer flights into heart of aurora borealis

Dec 29, 07 11:41 AM CST
(Newser) - Virgin Galactic plans to launch sightseeing tours into the heart of the northern lights—a first for humans—within three years. If all goes to plan, passengers willing to pay $200,000 a ticket will board spacecraft from north of the Arctic Circle to head for the edge of space,... More »

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Richard Branson • space tourism • northern lights • spacecraft • aurora borealis

Mojave Spaceport
Blast Kills 2

Four others hurt at company
behind first manned rocket

Jul 26, 07 10:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - An explosion killed at least two people at a remote desert plant attempting to develop billionaire Richard Branson's space tourism program. The blast at Mojave Air and Space Port was in part of the facility where SpaceShipTwo is being built for Virgin Galactic—to be used for $200,000 trips... More »

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Richard Branson • space tourism • Virgin Galactic • explosion • Mojave Air and Space Port • SpaceShipTwo • space travel

Citizens Book Tickets to Moon

Would-be astronauts fund growth industry

Jul 26, 07 3:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - A citizen spaceflight company has two passengers willing to pay $100 million each for a flight around the moon. Tickets aboard Virgin’s future suborbital flights are flying out the door. The civilian aeronautics industry finds itself better funded every day, as would-be astronauts and  backers alike are rushing to... More »

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NASA • Richard Branson • space tourism • Virgin Galactic • space travel

(Newser) - Paralyzed super-physicist Stephen Hawking completed a zero-gravity flight off the Florida coast yesterday—floating weightless and free of his wheelchair for 25-second busts. "It was amazing,"  Hawking said after the flight. "Space, here I come!" The American firm normally charges $3,750 for the experience,... More »

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space exploration • Stephen Hawking • space tourism • zero gravity • Lou Gehrig's disease • Virgin Galactic

14 Stories


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