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In 1967, Barron Hilton, the future head of Hilton Hotels Corp., turned up at an American Astronautical Society meeting devoted to “outer space tourism.” The first moon landing was still two years out, but Hilton wasn t going to be late to the next big travel market. At the conference, he laid out plans for Earth-orbiting Hiltons and lunar hotels, complete with Galaxy Lounges where guests might “enjoy a martini and the stars.”
Alas, humans would have to wait decades for an outer-space outpost, and the one they got, the International Space Station, wasn t built for private occupation, much less luxury travel. But now, as the ISS nears the end of its useful life, some entrepreneurs are revisiting Hilton’s vision and even thinking bigger.
Bezos’s Blue Origin sets date for first space tourism flight Company plans to auction off one seat on its New Shepard rocket 05 May 2021 - 22:03 Justin Bachman The interior of the Blue Origin capsule model in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the US, April 5 2017. Picture: REUTERS/ISAIAH J DOWNING
Blue Origin, the rocket maker founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, has set July 20 for its first mission carrying people to space.
The company plans to auction off one seat on its New Shepard rocket for the summer mission, according to information posted on its website on Wednesday. The money from the winning bid will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, which promotes math and science education.
Hundreds of tourists have begun training for space
By Lucie Aubourg / AFP, WASHINGTON
Several hundred people have already booked their tickets and begun training for a spectacular voyage: a few minutes, or perhaps days, in the weightlessness of space.
The mainly wealthy first-time space travelers are preparing to take part in one of several private missions which are preparing to launch. The era of space tourism is on the horizon 60 years after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space.
Two companies, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin LLC, are building spacecraft capable of sending private clients on suborbital flights to the edge of space lasting several minutes.