Space Tourism Continues to Grow (with Anousheh Ansari!)

Space is the final frontier... of tourism. Already three people have gone into space and in September Russia will launch yet another tourist into space on a Soyuz.

Russia is currently working with Space Adventures, a privately owned company based in Arlington, Virginia. Space Adventures working with the Russians to create a space plane designed specifically for space tourism. The operations would be carried out from spaceports in the United Arab Emirates and Singapore. The current price for a ticket is 20 million dollars.

Space Adventures has competition for Virgin Galactic. Virgin Galactic is the offshoot for the famous Virgin brand and managed by Sir Richard Branson. Virgin is making its own spacecraft (the first one being named the VSS Enterprise - go Star Trek!) and it will be based in New Mexico. Virgin will be receiving training aid from NASA. Plans are to launch 500 people a year into space starting around 2008. The price to go up in the VSS Enterprise will be only $200,000.

Right before Dennis Tito became the first space tourist there was some rumblings from NASA. It is this type of snobbish attitude which has distanced the public from space exploration. I say if one has the money and goes through the training then they should have the honor of becoming astronauts. What's so special about being hand picked by NASA: a failing government agency?

There is some interesting news about the latest space flight. Japanese businessman Disuke Enomoto was pulled off the flight because of health reasons. Maybe this was a good thing because he was planning on going up as his favorite anime character. His replacement will be American business woman Anousheh Ansari. Ansari was born in Iran and immigrated to the United States in the 1980s. She and her husband are self-made millionaires.

As a homage to TDAXP and to honor a request by a female friend I offer pictures of the stunning Anousheh Ansari (or as TDAXP would put it "Beautiful, Hot, and Sexy Iranian Astronaut Pictures"). Just remember boys she is married! (Note: Done in good humor, Catholicgauze respects women; he just fails alot)

Category: Space