"Back in 2001, American businessman Dennis Tito became the first private citizen to travel into space on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and spend six days at the International Space Station. In 2004, veteran test pilot Mike Melvill flew SpaceShipOne at Mach 3 beyond the Earth's atmosphere and became the first civilian to fly an aircraft into space. Well, the commercial space travel is getting very close to reality, with a number of private companies revealing their plans to offer thrilling space rides. Private space travel is now ready for booking and we are expecting hundreds or even thousands of space flights every year in the near future. One of the most illustrious names in commercial space travel is Richard Branson, and the affluent have already spent a whopping $200,000 per ticket for 2.5-hour flight aboard his SpaceShipTwo."