The Space Tourist's Handbook: Where to Go, What to See, and How to Prepare for the Ride of Your Life (Paperback)

~ Eric C. Anderson (Author), Joshua Piven (Author) "On April 12, 1961, a young Soviet Air Force pilot named Yuri Gagarin left planet Earth behind in a spaceship called Vostok 1 and became..." (more)
Key Phrases: International Space Station, Mission Control, Space Rdventures (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In May 2001, billionaire Dennis Tito made history as the first "space tourist"—he's the guy who paid $20 million to travel to the International Space Station. Since that landmark voyage, many others have followed in his footsteps—all courtesy of Space Adventures, the first travel agency devoted exclusively to outer space. But before you can blast off, there's plenty to learn. In this illustrated handbook, Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson gives would-be space tourists the exact same training program that he gives to the billionaires. Here are step-by-step instructions for liftoff, sleeping in weightless environments, using the "vacuum toilet" on the spacecraft, living in zero gravity, and much more. It's all so informative, the instructors at Space Adventures are already integrating this handbook into their lesson plans. With more than 25 illustrations (and a special full-color section showing popular vacation "destinations"), The Space Tourist's Handbook is fascinating reading for amateur astronauts of all ages.

About the Author

Eric Anderson is the president and CEO of Space Adventures, Ltd. He resides in Washington, D.C. Joshua Piven is coauthor of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook series. He lives in Philadelphia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Quirk Books (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594740666
• ISBN-13: 978-1594740664
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,018,723 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Your Trip Into Space, November 1, 2005

By	AllTheseWorlds "David" (Rocket City, USA) - See all my reviews

One of my favorite volumes in my collection of space-related books is a library discard titled "Your Trip Into Space."

The book by Lynn Poole -- "Producer of The Johns Hopkins TV Science Review," the title page proudly proclaims -- was published in 1953, four years before the beep heard 'round the world ushered in the space age, and eight years before anyone would actually take their own trip into space.

It's a fascinating piece both for what it got right, years before the U.S. would being serious work on putting a man into space, and for what it got wrong. Practically on the eve of Sputnik and then Gagarin, the book boldly pronounces, "No one can give you the precise time and exact date for departure. We are willing to take a chance on predicting that man will fly out into space within your lifetime, at least within fifty years." Emphasis theirs.

Looking back from a little more than that half-century later, "Your Trip Into Space" really isn't of much use if you're actually planning your trip into space. But it is a captivating snapshot of the state of spaceflight -- and public perception thereof -- at that moment in time.

Fast-forward now to the present, and a new book with a title that echoes the spirit of that half-century-old library discard, "The Space Tourist's Handbook." This book's bona fides are equally impressive, with the name on the spine belonging to Eric Anderson, president of tourism company Space Adventures. (The author credit beneath Anderson's name adds, "And Joshua Piven, co-author of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook.")

To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the book when I first heard about it, and Piven's author credit did little to allay that. The success of his above-listed work has spawned a variety of imitators, how-to guides that promise the reader everything up to and including, literally, superpowers. I feared a book that might have some interesting information, but, in living up to its title, would fall as flat as those would-be Supermen. On the flip side, there was also the possibility that it would go the other way, serving as nothing more than a 192-page brochure for Space Adventures.

The book's similarity to its spiritual forebear was pleasantly surprising. Like the earlier book, "The Space Tourist's Handbook" uses the conceit of preparing you for "your trip into space" to present a surprisingly complete picture of the state of human spaceflight at this particular moment in time. From the space shuttle to Soyuz to SpaceShipOne to Shenzhou (and many other things that don't start with S), the book provides an overview of all the major elements of spaceflight in 2005. A person who knew nothing about current events in space could pick up the book and in a couple of hours be relatively conversant about what's going on today. And for the reader taking the book off the shelf as far into the future as "Your Trip Into Space" is into the past would get an excellent idea of what was going on in this moment in history.

There are times when that spaceflight overview is shoehorned into the book's space tourism approach. The book notes the prospect of the space shuttle being used for tourism may be "tantalizing," and, while it notes that there is "no indication" that the government plans for it to be put to such use, to say that's an understatement would be an understatement. The book also notes that a spacewalk is "space tourism's ultimate walk on the wild side--the outer-space equivalent of bungee-jumping, parasailing, and skydiving all rolled into one amazing rush." And that description may be true, but overlooks the fact that while EVA may be "just a single step outside your door," that's one giant leap that no space tourist will be taking any time soon. (The space tourism bias also shows up in such ways as when it promises that "you will be an official astronaut upon completion of your sub-orbital flight." That's "official" according to whom, exactly?)

Those issues aside, the amazing thing about "The Space Tourist's Handbook" is that, in addition to providing an overview of the state of modern spaceflight, it actually lives up to its name. Unlike Poole's book, a person could actually read this book as preparation for their own trip into space. Granted, that's more because of the difference in the age than the difference in authors -- though, to be sure, Anderson has done his part to bring the change about -- but it adds a level of excitement knowing that chapters that still read almost like science fiction are, in fact, rooted in fact.

Even if the $20 million price tag for a Soyuz ticket is slightly out of your budget, the space tourism hints can be fascinating reading while you're waiting for suborbital costs to fall -- the book shares everything from how to prepare for a spaceflight medical exam to how to pass the psychological exam (though one wonders if the tips for seeming sane were actually left over form one Piven's other projects) to what to expect during cosmonaut training to why not to play chess in space (I suggest a new strategy -- let the Russkie win.)

To top it off, furthering its idea that the era of spaceflight for the average man is upon us, a card in the back of the book offers you a chance to enter to win a free suborbital spaceflight.

So when will we actually see someone use this book as preparation for a ride as a passenger on a suborbital spaceflight? I am willing to take a chance on predicting that man will fly out into space on commercial flights within your lifetime, at least within fifty years."

And probably a lot sooner.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun to read and educational, I couldn't put it down until I finished, November 24, 2005

By	Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In one of the most unique formats for such a book, the author has produced a highly educational and yet entertaining book on space travel. Written in a tourist handbook style, it starts with a series of vacation postcard style pictures including space pictures, vehicles, and training. From there you turn to the various potential space destinations. This section includes Spaceports you might leave from and destinations you might go to such as a space station or the moon. Now that you have picked your destination you have to choose how to get there. The next section of the book covers space vehicles and systems you might use, what to do when you get there and the approximate price. This section includes information on zero-gravity flights, sub-orbital flights, space shuttle flights, Soyuz flights, and even trans-lunar cruises. For each of them it shows the approximate cost range, training time, and mission time. Of course it includes a section on space flight training including the various exams you will have to pass, equipment training, physical training, etc. Typical of most foreign tourism books it even includes a section on space travel dos and don'ts, personal items to bring along, and even how to approach and dock with a space station. The section on life on the spacecraft includes how to do the common tasks you take for granted here on earth including how to sleep in zero gravity, how to spacewalk, eating, drinking, bathing, and even using the toilet. And, when you are done with the trip the tourist handbook ends with a section on the voyage home. This section includes information on things like reentry and landing. An innovative way to learn about the space industry and what an astronaut goes through, or what you will go through to become a space tourist, this is brilliantly done and a fascinating read. Scattered throughout the book are some tongue-in-cheek comments that just make it all the more entertaining. The Space Tourist's Handbook is highly entertaining and educational and as such a highly recommended read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, Utilization Should Go Up in 2007, January 6, 2007

By	Jack Kennedy Jr. "Jack Kennedy 276.275.4700" (Wise, Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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While the significant focus of the book is on orbital space toruism at $20 to $21 million a pop blast-off, (w/o spacewalk), Eric Anderson's book should become more relevant in late 2007 as testing of the commercial piloted suborbital vehicles will be tested above the Karmen Line. I enjoyed the book and commend it for reading by any one have the slightest interest in space affairs. The author should consider a new edition to be more inclusive of the more reasonably priced suborbital flights that hundreds, if not thousands, will purchase tickets to fly as the first decade ofthe 21st Century ends. The new FAA regulations effective in Februray should be reviewed and incorporated into the book and comparative analysis as to what regulations will be imposed in Singepore and the UAE as those commercial spaceports open on non-US regulated soil. But in all, I enjoyed the book, and cite it from time to time in research work writing in this area. It is effective and timely.