Back in the 1960s and 1970s, it was commonly thought that by the 21st Century, space travel would be the norm. Cartoons like ?The Jetsons? supported the idea of people hanging out happily in space, and many young kids dreamed of owning a car that would fly around the galaxy.
While we might not be ready to hang out with George, Jane and Astro quite yet, space tourism is becoming a more realistic option for travelers who have the desire and the budget to head into orbit. Before looking at some of the viable options for space travel, let?s start with the dark side to heading into deep dark space.

Historic Crashes Set Nerves on Edge
On January 28, 1986, television viewers watched in horror as the American shuttle orbiter Challenger broke up in the air a mere 73 seconds after liftoff. All seven astronauts aboard were killed, including Christa McAuliffe, a teacher from New Hampshire. While this was not a space vacation by any means, the idea that a ?regular? person like McAuliffe could qualify to go into space fueled the orbit travel dreams of many people. Twenty-eight years later on October 31, 2014, Virgin Galactic?s first SpaceShipTwo space plane crashed during a test flight over California?s Mojave Desert. The crash caused the death of one pilot and injuries to the other. The SpaceShipTwo crash was determined to be caused by co-pilot error ? the ?feathering? system on the commercial space plane was unlocked too early; however, the tragic explosion of the Challenger was linke...