Reader’s Digest UK – July 2019

76 • JULY 2019

SPACE TOURISM:

Tamara Hinson examines why space exploration

developments shouldn’t just be of interest to budding

astronauts—they’re helping to overhaul our holidays, too

I

n early May 2019 Blue Origin,
the space exploration company
founded by Amazon CEO Jeff
Bezos, successfully launched—and
landed—the rocket Bezos plans to
use for space tourism. Virgin Galactic
founder Richard Branson has said
he hopes to start commercial space
flights by the end of 2019. In recent
years, international space agencies
and private space exploration
companies have made huge leaps
forward in their efforts to explore
beyond planet Earth. Another first
was achieved in early 2019, when
China's Yutu 2 rover became the first
to explore the moon's far side.
This isn't just good news for those

of us with a burning desire to visit

the Moon, see our planet from space

or set up camp on Mars—if you're a

keen traveller, it's highly likely you'll

eventually benefit from developments

relating to space exploration. Elon

Musk, founder of SpaceX, recently

pointed out that, by travelling in a

spaceship sent into orbit, an eight-

hour flight in a cramped aeroplane

could become a 30-minute hop,

while the entire planet could be

circumnavigated in just 90 minutes.

"It currently takes me 20 hours

to get from Houston to Singapore,"

says Randy “Komrade” Bresnik, a

NASA astronaut who recently served

as Commander of the International

ONE SMALL STEP

FOR PRIVATE

COMPANIES