The Toronto, Canada-based tour operator has created three itineraries centered on “space experiences” in Russia.
In the three-day “Space Adventure—The Edge of the Earth,” guests fly in a MIG-31 jet fighter and, while on ground, visit the Monino Air Museum. “Zero Gravity Adventure,” meanwhile, takes guests to Chkailovsky Air Base, just outside of Moscow, to undergo one day of cosmonaut training and fly 34,000 feet into the atmosphere to experience zero gravity.
For those who prefer to experience zero gravity on the ground, G.A.P. has created “Cosmonaut for a Day,” where guests spend five days training as a cosmonaut, eating space food and taking part in space simulators.
True space travel is close to becoming more of a reality, as Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Abercrombie & Kent develop space programs. As Travel Agent editor Joe Pike reported earlier this year, Virgin Galactic signed an exclusive deal with Virtuoso to launch $200,000-space flights by 2009, and A&K has plans to start its own space division offering package deals. Virgin Galactic already has started accepting bookings; about 50 percent of which are from the U.S.