Latest Space tourism Stories

Simonyi Made History as the First Repeat Private Space Explorer VIENNA, Va., April 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Space Adventures, Ltd., the only company that provides human space missions to the world marketplace, today announced that its client Charles Simonyi and his crew successfully landed in the Kazakhstan steppes after a visit to the International Space Station (ISS). Simonyi returned to Earth aboard the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft with Expedition 18 crewmembers Michael Fincke and Yuri Lonchokov,...

Russian authorities Saturday said cosmonaut Gennady Padalka was to take control of the International Space Station from NASA astronaut Michael Fincke. Padalka, who trained Fincke on a 2004 mission to the station, praised his former pupil with leaving the space station in excellent shape for the station's Expedition 19, ITAR-Tass reported. Fincke and Russian Yuri Lonchakov have been in orbit on the station since last October. They return to Earth April 8 with space tourist Charles Simonyi,...

Charles Simonyi, a 60-year-old billionaire U.S. space tourist, will return to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) a day later than scheduled due to bad weather on Earth, a Russian space official said Friday.Simonyi made history by becoming the first space tourist to visit the International Space Station twice.  He will touch down in Kazakhstan on Wednesday in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, the official said."The landing has been shifted by one day to April 8 due to bad...

The Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft carrying two astronauts and a space tourist lifted off from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome on Thursday heading for the International Space Station.NASA astronaut Michael Barratt and Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka are joined by Hungarian-born space tourist Charles Simonyi. The crew will become the 19th crew to live aboard the orbiting outpost. The mission marks Simonyi's second venture into space, making him the world's first two-time space tourist. Simonyi, who...

Simonyi Makes History as He Commences His Second Space Mission VIENNA, Va., March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Space Adventures, Ltd., the only company that provides human space missions to the world marketplace, today announced that its orbital client Charles Simonyi and his crew successfully launched aboard a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan en route to the International Space Station (ISS). Simonyi joins the Expedition 19 crew, which includes Russian cosmonaut...

Billionaire Charles Simonyi will become the world's first two-time space tourist when he sets off for the International Space Station on Thursday, the Associated Press reported.Simonyi has now spent $60 million overall to take the space flight with two professional Russian and American astronauts who will be going up for a six-month stint at the space station.The two-week trip to the space station will likely be his last, as the Russian government is preparing to stop tourist flights in the...

Simonyi Makes History as the First Repeat Private Space Explorer VIENNA, Va., March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- In preparation for his March 26 launch, Charles Simonyi has outlined the mission objectives he hopes to achieve during his second visit to the International Space Station (ISS). Dr. Simonyi is the seventh orbital client for Space Adventures, Ltd., the only company that provides human space missions to the world marketplace. Dr. Simonyi will make history during his spaceflight by...

A Swedish space tourism firm said on Wednesday that short space flights are set to begin launching from northern Sweden in 2012."We expect that the first tourist flights leaving from the United States will start around 2011 and that Kiruna (in northern Sweden) will be next about a year later, in 2012," said Spaceport Sweden spokeswoman Johanna Bergstroem-Roos in an interview with AFP.Virgin Galactic, owned by Sir Richard Branson, will run the flights, which will initially send...

Software mogul Charles Simonyi told reporters on Thursday that he pays no mind to the additional $10 million he will pay to Russia for his upcoming journey into space.Simonyi, who earned his wealth as the head of Microsoft's application software group, is expected to spend 11 days on his journey from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome to the International Space Station. He spent $25 million on his first space trip in April 2007, but since then the price has risen to $35 million. "It's money...

PHOENIX, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Before the first suborbital space ship has even flown its first flight, the cost of commercial "space" travel available to the general public has already dropped by more than fifty percent. RocketShip Tours and XCOR Aerospace recently announced that the cost of their suborbital space flight, which will begin operation in 2010 will be just $95,000. This includes a five-night stay at a luxury resort, complete training, medical evaluation and screening,...