Space Tourism as Early as 2007

As many as a dozen space tourism startup companies are developing space-plane technology that could take paying customers into suborbital space as early as the end of next year.

Outfits such as Virgin Galactic, Space Adventures and PlanetSpace are lining up both craft and ground facilities with the expectation that plenty of civilians will be willing to pay from $100,000 to $250,000 for a two-hour flight and approximately five minutes of weightlessness (a bargain compared to the millions that space tourists currently pay). Rocketplane Kistler, a firm headed by American businessman George French, is aiming to be the first out of the gate, preparing to take commercial passengers into space by the summer of 2007. Most of its competitors are shooting for 2008 or 2009 startup dates.

Source: CNN.com