A "Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans" chaired by Norman Augustine has recently been anounced, to report at the end of August or later. A potentially important piece of good news is that "stimulating commercial space flight capability" is one of the subjects to be addressed by the review.

Dr. Simonyi is currently on his second trip to space, which is the seventh civilian trip brokered by US company Space Adventures. However, it will be the last for civilian space explorers for the foreseeable future. Due to expansion of the International Space Station ( ISS) crew from three to six starting in April, there will be no extra seats aboard the Soyuz capsules for non-professional space travelers.

We never hear about it, but when the wagon trains were working their way West, the folks must have had to find some way to, well, take care of their bodily functions. The men, of course, because of their somewhat different physiques, might not have had much trouble taking care of business, but for the women it was a different story. Crossing the vast plains of what is now Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, and then the great deserts of the West with nary a tree or bush in sight must have caused some concern. But we never hear about it, so those hardy folk must have found some way to preserve their dignity and their privacy.

Right now, there are two types of people who go to space, astronauts and tourists. They're easily differentiated in one respect: tourists pay for their journey. But when you consider how hard these tourists have to work before merely setting foot on the International Space Station ( ISS), you realize the word “tourist” is an oversimplification of the process that these adventurers currently undergo.

by Carol Pinchefsky

by Carol Pinchefsky

by G.B. Leatherwood.

by G.B. Leatherwood

For advocates of space tourism, the year 2004 can be conveniently summed up in one word: "SpaceShipOne". That project could hardly have gone better: after just three powered test-flights, starting on the centenary of the Wright brothers' first flight, SpaceShipOne reached space three times in 2004, thereby winning the Ansari X-Prize of $10 million.

by Charles Lurio