Commercial astronaut
Videos
A commercial astronaut is a person who is a crew member of a privately-owned spacecraft. The designation was established by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2004 to promote innovations in commer
Patti Grace Smith presents SpaceShipOne pilot Mike Melvill the department's first commercial astronaut wings.
Space tourism
Videos
Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. There are several different types of space tourism, including orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism. Tourists are motivated by the
Soyuz MS-20 crew on the International Space Station, from left to right: Yusaku Maezawa (Spaceflight Participant), Alexander Misurkin (cosmonaut), and Yozo Hirano (Spaceflight Participant).
The first space tourist, Dennis Tito (left) aboard the ISS
Space tourist Mark Shuttleworth
Artist conception of a Mars tourism poster, made by SpaceX