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| | British entrepreneur Richard Branson said Monday that his Virgin company plans to launch commercial tourism space flights over the next few years. The Virgin transport, entertainment and communications group has signed an agreement with pioneering aviation designer Burt Rutan to build an aircraft based on Rutan's SpaceShipOne vessel, Branson said. The new service will be called Virgin Galactic and expects to fly 3,000 new tourist astronauts in its first five years. Fares will start at 115,000 pounds (US $208,000, Euro 169,000) for a suborbital flight, including three days' training.
Kinds of space tourism:
SpaceShipOne — first jet aircraft, designed and funded by private resources, which penetrated into conventional border with space at an altitude of 100 km.
Still, other kinds of space tourism belong to someone or the other perspective.
In 2005, ROSCOSMOS and Space Adventures signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) for selecting the astronauts -nonprofessionals and investors for realization of commercial project “Moon Flyby”. Space Adventures gets exclusive rights on marketing and selection of astronauts-nonprofessionals and investors for commercial flight to Moon, suggested by RKK. RКК "Energia" acquires the rights to technical execution of given project. Flight is planned on modifed spacecraft “Soyuz”. Realization of project could be within next five years.
Besides tourism on Russian spacecrafts, exist private funded projects, which through several years are trying to design own rocket carrier, own spaceships and “orbital hotels” for longer stay of tourists in orbit. The first private piloted suborbital flight occurred on June 21, 2004 on SpaceShipOne. Announced aim of designers of project is to make the space flights accessible for rather small payment.
Other projects are also under development.
Space tourist list:
1. Dennis Tito (USA), April 28, 2001
2. Mark Shuttleworth (Republic of South Africa), April 25, 2002
3. Gregory Olsen (USA), October 1, 2005
4. Anousheh Ansari (USA), September 18, 2006
5. Charles Simonyi (USA), April 7, 2007
However, Africa, as a whole, lags behind in international tourism because many countries of the region are economically under-developed and have no political stability and also military conflicts and epidemics are registered in many parts of the continent.
Risks of tourism
* Ecological hazards. First of all, tourism affects environment by excessive concentration of production and people in the tourist centres, masters natural complexes, which were unused earlier, and strengthens influence of other branches (agriculture, construction, timber harvesting, hunting);
* Loss of cultural values. Commercialization of lives and tourism development in individual regions leads to vulgarization of traditions and degradation of prestige of national cultures. Sex tourism and transportation of art products by tourists causes special concern in world community;
* Negative influence of environment. Constantly, environment threatens human beings with various natural calamities. Social environment has problems such as epidemics, HIV-infection, criminality, spread of drug addiction, violence, terrorism, piracy and military complications. Annually, 30 states belong to number, adverse for tourism;
* Technogenic hazards. One of the most serious risks in tourism are transport incidents, accidents and catastrophes. Many problems are created by large-scale accidents in atomic power stations, chemical plants and military objects. Annually, accidents and fires in tour industries lead to traumas and deadly cases among tourists.
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