Space Adventures is going to use an Armadillo Technologies rocket to launch amateur astronauts 62 miles into the sky. Nothing new, except that they will do it for half the price of Virgin Galactic's ticket, and in a real rocket!
Yes, an actual rocket launching vertically, not a glorified spaceplane like SpaceShipTwo. A real rocket, launched vertically. Clear the tower, godspeed, and all that. You know, like the real astronauts with the right stuff in the right places. And then, five minutes on the edge of space, and down you go. Almost like Alan Shepard in his Freedom 7—but hopefully with a lot less Gs—instead of playing a snob version of Chuck Yeager in Rutan's spaceplane.
The price tag will be $102,000, which puts it beyond most budgets, but is half Virgin Galactic's projected "more than $200,000" ticket. Looking at this price drop, perhaps we will be able to go to space in our lifetime, after all. Make it $50,000, and I will be there in my Star Trek suit. [Jaunted]