21st Century Travel

The new millenium doesn't really start till 2001 but the year 2000 has captured so much of the world's attention. This can somehow be attributed partly to the publicity and concern generated by the Y2K bug. Partly also, because the 21st century has always been perceived as the age of space travel. Books by Jules Verne and TV shows and films such as Star Trek and Star Wars have all fueled this notion.

Nonetheless, as the world becomes "smaller" due to advances in technology, international travellers are becoming weary of destination sites and are seeking something new. Places that were once exotic and remote like China, the Middle East and the Pacific islands are no longer so. Cruises, trekking and cross-country rail travel have all been done by the most intrepid of travellers. That leaves only one place that remains unvisited by most people: Space.

Space tourism is now on the agenda of some enterprising people. The objective is to send passenger trips into space. The "itinerary" for a voyage to space includes "astronaut training" where participants will experience weightlessness, zero-gravity flight simulation, and the actual flight to space itself.

NASA, the American Space Agency is planning to build a space station in outer space that can accommodate up to 100 people while Hilton Hotel is looking into being the first hotel in space. All these in 15 to 20 years time. Plans include ferrying guests via reusable launch rockets to make the roundtrip flight from Earth to the space hotel and back. The design of the space station includes a viewing deck where one can view the changing weather patterns on Earth, other planets and stars.

Indeed, space tourism is the new type of seeing the world or should we say, "leaving the earth?" that awaits adventure-seekers.

For more information on civilian space travel visit:

http://www.spacevoyages.com
http://www.bristolspaceplanes.com
http://www.rotaryrocket.com
http://www.adrenalin.com.au

Go To Page: 1

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic