a recent phenomenon pioneered by russia where patrons can fly into outer space. while orbital space tourism opportunities are limited and expensive a number of startup companies have sprung up in recent years-- the average price for a flight is $20 to 30-million dollars.
a new infrastructure for the suborbital space tourism industry is being developed through the construction of spaceports in numerous locations in the united states as well as sweden and the united arab emirates. this week in new mexico the spaceport authority broke ground on their new project SPACEPORT AMERICA which will be the first ever commercial spaceport in north america.
spaceport america was established in 2006 and is officially owned and operated by the state of new mexico. as of may 2009 six suborbital mission have already been launched from the port. the new project will host private space travel companies like VIRGIN GALACTIC who spent over $300-million on developing the space launch system including their own terminal at the new permanent facility. this construction is expected to be complete in 2010.
