How about a vacation in outer space? - survey reveals that more than 40% of Americans would like to spend a vacation in outer space - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), August, 1997

It may come as no surprise that more than 40% of Americans are looking for an out of this world" vacation experience. Except that these people are waiting to pack their bags for a trip that would allow them literally to leave their earthly cares behind. Responding to the 1997 Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown/Yankelovich Partners National Leisure Travel Monitor. they said they hope to see the day when space travel is not just for NASA's astronauts. but for ordinary persons as well.

Forty-two percent said they would consider traveling through space via some kind of space cruise vessel that would offer amenities similar to an ocean-going cruise ship. Additionally, 34% would be interested in vacationing for 14 days aboard the Space Shuttle should such a trip ever become available to the public. These intrepid individuals said they would be willing to spend (on average) $10,800 for the trip.

Would space cruises include moon-buggy races? Would the weightlessness of zero-gravity rooms coax more passengers to the dessert buffet? Would lost luggage return to Earth in a meteor shower? What does this mean for the future of leisure travel?

"Space travel of this nature is about 10 or 15 years away if NASA and the private sector develop the research and technology necessary for space tourism," predicts NASA spokesman George Diller, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla. "I think you'll see commercial initiatives, but it'll be pricey. Ten thousand dollars won't get you on the launch pad. You'd probably be looking at something closer to fifty thousand." He says the only trip that could occur at this point would last just about an hour and would allow the passenger to experience a weightless environment for about 15 minutes. Sub-orbital types of space tourism. in which a "space plane" would orbit the Earth, also has been discussed, Diller notes. adding that such a craft might hold 15 to 20 passengers.