All you Star Wars fans can rejoice. The action you saw on screen might be translated into reality, in the not-so-distant future. Here's a view of the vehicle you could be flying in. This Astroliner developed by the Kelly Space and Technology aims to provide 'low-cost, reliable access to space'.

So, how is it going to come about? Everything is described step by step in sections covering the take-off, tow launch, deployment, re-entry and landing.

Also Read --  Amisha Patel: 7 sites     on the actress --  Bubbles on how      to deal with a difficult Boss --  'Doh' is a now an official      English word

And what is space tourism? It means that ordinary people (like me, I presume) will be able to queue up at a ticket counter, buy a ticket to Mars, get into a launch vehicle, book into a space hotel and enjoy the view. Unbelievable, but not impossible!

Is there a demand for space travel? Check out the Space Transportation Market Demand Report, 2010 to 2030. Fasten your seat belts, because you're in for a surprise. This 25-page report reveals that there is sufficient wealth to support initial pricing for private citizen space travel. So, in case you are working harder and getting paid lesser every year, you may be heading in the wrong direction.

And why would one want to travel to outer space? Aren't we all so time stressed (not to mention the money) that we hardly get time to take a decent holiday? And what would we tell the boss: "I need some time off, I'm going on a space trip"?

The reasons are diverse, but 72 per cent of respondents, according to this report, want to travel to space for the 'view' of earth. I would settle for the thrill, the adrenalin rush and, of course, to break the monotony of my everyday 'work to home' routine.

While you make your way through traffic, there are people out there who are serious about these outer galactic missions. The Division of Space Transportation has a mission: to 'energise the general public's desire and will to go to space' which will then lead to the 'establishment and growth of profit making United States Space Travel and Tourism businesses'. I hope the guys in Indian tourism are listening.

Affordable Space Flight asks a relevant question: "… here we are, 30 years after the first manned landing on the Moon, struggling to launch the Space Shuttle 6 times a year at $500 million per flight, and no one talks about making the development of Affordable Private Individual Space Flight a primary goal of NASA. Why?"

My question, exactly. I mean, they've made a hundred movies on space travel and even fought imagined wars out there in the nothingness. Space organisations have launched hundreds of satellites, spending trillions on space missions. So when are we going to get our turn to ride in that space ship, I ask. For all the money we paid towards funding those endeavours, surely we deserve one space trip during our lifetime?

Affordable Space Flight also has a four-step explanation as to how we can build space planes and elevators, and use lunar resources to make this mission possible. But obviously it doesn't work, because we would be talking to each other on the Moon right now, if it did.

Space Adventurers is already taking bookings for its sub-orbital space flight scheduled to begin within the 2003-2005 time frame. This 30-150 minute space foray will award you with a Space Adventures astronaut wings and lifetime membership to a special club. The quoted price for this adventure - US $98,000. Any takers? Hurry and book your seat today! Will people pay for these space adventures? If so, how much? The first market research (supported by the National Aerospace Laboratory) on the demand was apparently conducted in 1993 across all age groups. The survey found that 70 per cent of those under age 60 and more than 80 per cent of those under age 40 said they would like to visit space at least once in their lifetime. Some 70 per cent of these said they would pay up to three months salary for a trip.

Now, I don't think three months of my salary would pay for even the seat cover in the aircraft but, apparently, the number of wealthy people is only increasing and, by 2030, a honeymoon to the Moon would probably be more of a luxury than a fantasy.

Space travel will no longer be just a game or something we see in a movie. Till then, let me get back to the Space Arcade games and pretend for a while longer.

-- ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Space Adventures
Sub-orbital flights, zero gravity, flight adventures - you can book your place today!

Tour of the Final Frontier
American, Dennis Tito gets a space trip for $20 million aboard a Russian aircraft

Space Future
What you can do in space, hotels, agencies and the story so far

Mission Launches
News on the launches and NASA's deep space network

Space Policy Institute
Overview, research, careers in space policy and reports

European Space Agency
Europe's initiatives in space research

NASA
Space watching with the world's leading space research organisation

Human Space Flights
Watch astronauts of missions as they explore outer space

Also Read

--Space Saving Techniques
--UFO's and Aliens: Six sites
--Space: The Final Frontier