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Space Tourism Is Already Here

In the second episode of our Voyager series we check out what's already on offer for space tourists—and the closest you can get if you're not a multi-millionaire.
Image: Steve Boxhall

It's easy to book a ticket to almost anywhere on Earth with a click of a mouse these days, but some travel companies have their sights set further afield: space.

Currently, the reality of holidaying in orbit still seems pretty far-out—unless you've got millions of dollars to burn.

In the second episode of our Voyager series, made possible by travel tool KAYAK.co.uk, we visit Space Adventures, a US-based company that has been sending amateur astronauts into space since 2001. The glorified travel agency offers suborbital spaceflights, stays on the International Space Station, and even a circumlunar flight—all for suitably astronomical prices.

Is it worth it? Video game developer Richard Garriott, who went to the ISS with Space Adventures in 2008, thinks so. His passion for all things space led him to follow his astronaut father's footsteps and make his own way to the final frontier, even though it meant undergoing major surgery to pass the medical exam.

But will space ever be within the grasp of your average holidaymaker? Will we ever swap two weeks in the Sun for a trip past the Moon? Will we even want to?

In pursuit of answers, our host Ben Ferguson gets the closest regular space fans can to space on Earth: a zero-gravity flight. If his experience is anywhere close to the real thing, the future of travel looks exhilarating. And slightly nausea-inducing.

@avantgrant, @fergusonben