Recently-retired NASA astronaut Eileen Collins returned to her hometown of Elmira, New York, over the weekend, giving the commencement address at Elmira College. The local newspaper, the Elmira Star-Gazette, used the opportunity to publish excerpts of previous interviews with Collins, including this question on space tourism:
What is your take on private space travel, and do you see that as something that will become more common and more affordable?
I am a huge supporter of getting more people in space. I think the idea of space tourism is great. The experiences I have had have been so much fun that I would like other people to have the same experiences.
In a companion article, Collins reveals she’d like to go back to space as a tourist: “I would like to be a space tourist someday, but I’m not going to go unless I know it’s safe.” Safe, like, say, the shuttle?
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