In 1967 Barron Hilton, the chief executive officer of Hilton Hotels Corporation, stated that it was his dream to be a pioneer of space tourism. At that time, he spoke of his plans for hotels in space, including the Orbiter Hilton and the Lunar Hilton. The Orbiter Hilton would move freely around in space, orbiting Earth, whereas the Lunar Hilton would be located on the surface of the Moon. Hilton realized that he would have to wait until the time was right, but that time is now approaching.

Recently, Dennis Tito, a 60-year-old California tycoon, made his place in history as the first person to buy his way into space as a tourist, paying $20 million for the opportunity. After six weeks of intensive training with the Russian Space Agency, on April 30, 2001 Tito embarked on a week's vacation to tour the International Space Station...