The Race for Space Tourism

Learn more about the efforts from private companies to make space flight a recreational activity.

Intermediate

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In 2001, U.S. engineer Dennis Tito paid nearly $20 million to spend six days orbiting the Earth, becoming the world's first space tourist.
Since then, seven other people have paid similar sums to travel in space.
But 2021 was a special year for space tourism. In two weeks, ten civilians embarked on suborbital flights.