Space Tourism set to Takeoff

Currently only a few lucky fanboy (and fangurl) multimillionaires have had the pleasure of going on vacation in outer space, however according to this article the price may come to down to a mere $80,000 for a quick taste of the final frontier:

Space tourism to rocket in this century, researchers predict

“Outer space will rocket into reality as “the” getaway of this century, according to researchers at the University of Delaware and the University of Rome La Sapienza. In fact, the “final frontier” could begin showing up in travel guides by 2010, they predict.

“In the twenty-first century, space tourism could represent the most significant development experienced by the tourism industry,” says Prof. Fred DeMicco, ARAMARK Chair in UD’s Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management program.”

By the way the image of the Orion Space Plane from 2001: A Space Odyssey is from this great page on Martin Bower.