[FPSPACE] New Kourou Soyuz Pad May Open Space Tourist Highway (LAUNCH magazine)

[Jim Oberg]

New Kourou Soyuz Pad May Open Space Tourist Highway (LAUNCH magazine)

http://launchmagonline.com/soyuz/images/launch-air.jpg

TOURISTS VISIT SOUTH AMERICA FOR MANY REASONS. For exciting Carnival, they go to Rio. For breathtaking ruins, they visit Machu Picchu. For exotic eco-tours of jungles with amazing flora and fauna, they visit the Amazon basin. 

Within a few years, South American-bound tourists may have an entirely new goal: flying into outer space to visit orbital hotels or other destinations. They may be boarding rockets that combine Rio's excitement, Peru's breathtaking vistas, and the Amazon's exotic environment into one out-of-this-world package--an orbital space expedition.