Space Tourism Begins This Year

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Just two years ago, at the successful conclusion of the Falcon Heavy mission, I wrote An Open Letter to Elon Musk from a kid who had an official Fisher Space Pen in one hand and an open package of vanilla freeze-dried ice cream in the other as Neil Armstrong took “one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

My whole family had gathered around the TV set to watch a man walk on the moon. I was filled with emotions that, even now, I find hard to describe. I was proud, inspired, excited, scared, impressed, and … a little jealous. “Dad, do you think regular people will ever be able to go to the moon?” He gave me a very hopeful look and answered, “One day.”

Well, that day just got much closer as Elon Musk plans to launch Jared Isaacman and an all-civilian crew into orbit later this year. The age of space tourism has begun. I hope they take credit cards.