Space Tourism Interest High in Taiwan – As is Skepticism

SS2 and VMS Eve in hangar 2

It looks as if space tourism is proving popular in Taiwan, even though there seems to be a bit of skepticism from the local media:

Eight Taiwanese citizens have applied to take part in a space journey at a cost of US$200,000 per person, which is expected to create a fad for space travel if they return safely to Taiwan, a local travel agency said Thursday.

Six of the eight aspiring space travelers, including a surgeon, engineers at the Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park and businessmen, have already paid their fares, while a couple operating a jewelry business who filed applications earlier that day were scheduled to pay their fares next week in the hope of getting a fairytale journey into outer space in August 2011, the travel agency said.

The bookings were reported by Royal China Express, the Taiwan agent for Virgin Galactic.

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