Zero gravity and moon landings —the race is on to make commercial space tourism a reality
Ever since Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk the moon in 1969, many have shared the dream of being able to explore outer space. While space exploration has been reserved for professional astronauts, it won’t be long until private citizens can book a flight out of Earth, with entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos in a race to make space travel a reality.
In fact, the next flight taking tourists to the Internation Space Station (ISS) could be happening as soon as 2021. Want to be amongst the first tourists to travel in space? Here are five companies that want to make space tourism—and maybe space colonisation—happen in the near future.
See also: The Space Race: 3 Billionaires Who Are Conquering The Cosmos
1. Space X
The brainchild of tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, SpaceX was founded with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and ultimately enabling humans to live on other planets—in particular, Mars.
In February 2018, Elon Musk captured our imagination when he launched “Starman”—a mannequin in a spacesuit—behind the wheel of a Tesla Roadster into space with the Falcon Heavy. But Spaceman won’t be alone in space for much longer.
The private aerospace manufacturer announced in September 2018 that the first commercial flight around the moon could be ready to launch in just five years, and Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa of e-commerce giant Zozo, along with a coterie of artists commissioned by him, will be the first passengers to fly beyond the low Earth orbit in 2023.
Find out more at spacex.com
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