Dennis Tito's space flight is a resounding victory for freedom, democracy, Russia and capitalism in space - over the forces of government control, bureaucracy, Goldin's Nasa and monopoly.

Today, 28 April 2001, the future finally became the present. Despite last-minute glitches (seen as more political than technical by some), the age of space tourism has officially begun. Denis Tito, the first paying space tourist, is now rocketing on his way toward the International Space Station (ISS). Space Future wishes him well and looks forward to private citizens in space as a beginning of a new era. For more information, see this BBC news article.

On April 12, space afficionados around the world will be banding together to celebrate Yuri's Night. 12 April 2001 marks the 40th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight into space in 1961.

SpaceProjects.com's Rich Robins has written a report of the recent FAA conference on space transportation, with a special focus on Patrick Collins and issues close to Space Future's heart:

Under the title "Money Could Buy Next Giant Leap In Space, Aldrin Says", Reuters' Dayan Candappa reported a meeting between Buzz Aldrin and Arthur C Clarke in which they agreed that space tourism is IT.

In the blizzard of media discussion of what the 21st Century will be like, the number of journalists who recognise the role that passenger space travel will play in the world economy is vanishingly small. Yet passenger space travel will bring about a transformation of the world economy in the 21st century as significant for human development as the European 'Renaissance' in the 15-16th centuries.

Space tv AG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the German television production company Brainpool of Cologne, is reported to have made reservations for 7 flights in the Russian 'Soyuz' launch vehicle between 2002 and 2008 to allow selected people to visit the Russian sector of the International Space Station.

Well, it happens to everyone eventually.

According to this CNN article, NBC has secured the rights to screen _Destination Mir_ for US$40 million. This guarantees a second visit by the general public, albeit a contest winner, to the Mir space station.

According to MSNBC, Mark Burnett, the producer of “Survivor” who envisioned and realized 16 castaways duking it out for survival, like Gilligan’s Island with an edge, has made an even more daring programming decision: He plans a new “Survivor” series that will send 13 to 15 contestants to Star City, Russia. After a process of elimination, one lucky winner will be sent to Mir Space Station.