If Sandra Bullock has got you all fired up about what it’s like out in the Universe, you might not be able to get on a rocket to the moon, but there are some earthbound space travel destinations where you won’t be at the mercy of gravity. Stargazers, comet chasers, astronaut fanciers and wormhole aficionados can all find their space loving mojo at these space travel destinations.
1 Palomar Observatory, USA
This observatory is built high on the Palomar Mountain in San Diego, at a height of 1800m above sea level – its height prevents light pollution. In terms of size, this is as big as Rome's Pantheon. Its design is of the classic architecture of the 1930s. The observatory is home to the 5.1m Hale Telescope, which was the largest telescope of its time. Operated by humans in its heyday, today the telescope as well as the observatory is mainly operated with the help of computers. This is one of the easily accessible space travel destinations – it is open daily.
Frequently asked questions
2 Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
The world's oldest facility for launching space vehicles is the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It was from here that Yuri Gagarin took off as the first human being to venture into outer space in 1961. This location has been a backdrop not only in Star Trek but also in William Gibson's novels. You cannot only visit the space museum inside this facility, but can also see how the rockets are made.
3 Kennedy Space Centre, USA
The Kennedy Space Centre in the USA has a lot of historical significance and is probably the most well known of all the world’s space travel destinations (how many missions to save the Earth in the movies have launched from here ? ^_^) Kennedy Space Center has been the launching pad for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. It is located on Cape Canaveral in Florida and many spectators have witnessed historic shuttle launches and landings, significant among them being the Challenger Shuttle disaster
4 Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
Tanegashima is the most vital part of Japan’s space program. This space center is located 100kn south of the city of Kyushu on Tane Island. Since the center is open to public, you can visit it and interact with all the clever stuff the Japanese are working on. And in case you were wondering if this is the same space station where James Bond once had to stop a secret rocket fleet, then the answer unfortunately is NO!
5 Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, China
Most of the Chinese space vehicles leave the earth from here. The centre is located on a huge area of land, approximately 3000 square km. However, unless you are a card carrying member of the Chinese space organization (I just made that name up) the closest you’ll get to the space center is the town of Jiuquan.
6 Star City, Russia
During the days of the Cold War, it was unthinkable that you would ever be able to Star City as a tourist. Now however, the place has been developed as a visitor attraction and the place has its own post office and train station. Though some parts of the station may be off limits for the public, you can still check out the museum that boasts over 20,000 exhibits all related to space.
7 International Space Station, Low Earth Orbit
Ok , so in the beginning I said that these space travel destinations will be earthbound but you can’t have an article about space travel without including space travel really can you? The International Space Station has been inhabited since year 2000 and was assembled in space. This station is a joint venture by Russia, US, Canada, Japan and the EU. Visiting this space station is a once in a lifetime experience and you'll need to spend your fortune to experience this. The world’s first ever space tourist Dennis Tito had to spend $US20 million to spend just a little over a week there. If you can dish out that much amount of money, then the space station will certainly be a sight to behold, as will Earth out the window!
I’d love to actually get out into space but I fear the days of personal jet packs are way off in the future.
Are you ready to take one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind?
