Results tagged “Space Travel” from Intelligent Travel Blog

After several thwarted attempts, Space Shuttle Endeavour flight STS-127 is set to launch tonight at 6:51 p.m. EDT (weather permitting) as the 29th mission to the International Space Station. Yet the press is quiet, cameras aren't glued to the launch pad, and it's doubtful the crew will come home to a tickertape parade. Space travel has unfortunately lost some of its luster, but if we turn back the clock to decades ago, when the Internet, cell phones, and putting a probe on Mars were imagined only found in science fiction films, we'd find a more enthusiastic audience.

Why? Because July 20 will mark the 40th anniversary of NASA's Apollo 11 mission--the first manned lunar landing. Four decades have passed since Neil Armstrong made that "giant leap for mankind," igniting a string of successful moon missions, a space shuttle program, and flights to Mars within our grasp.

Across the country, NASA is commemorating the historic event with a host of public programs. Take your family so they may relive the accomplishments of the Apollo 11 crew and spark a new excitement around space exploration in the next generation.

For those travelers who feel like they have done it all, a new out-of-this-world opportunity will soon be available--for a price. On June 19, New Mexico unveiled plans for the nation's first commercial spaceport, Spaceport America. The spaceport, estimated to be completed by 2010, would take travelers up 50,000 feet, break out of the Earth's atmosphere, and then fly up to 62 miles above the Earth.

The $200 million project is being fronted by the state of New Mexico in hopes of creating jobs and increasing tourism. The spaceport will work with Virgin Galactic, who will supply the space vehicles. Spaceport America is anticipating launching one Virgin Galactic flight per week, and each will hold six passengers.

If you want to be on one of the tours, you will have to add your name to the waiting list of over 45,000 other travelers, and be willing to dish out $200,000.  Passengers must also attend three days of training to prepare for the trip. The total travel time is around two hours with five minutes of weightlessness.

What do you think? Is the flight worth the price?

[Spaceport America]

Photo Courtesy of Spaceport America