Space Tourists

Once upon a time, children dreamed of some day being smart, strong and resourceful enough to be astronauts. Now, once can become a space traveler if they have a big enough bankroll. In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the space program that was once America's closest rival has fallen on hard times, with a severe shortage of funding, scientific know-how and hardware. However, some former Soviet states have discovered they can help finance space flights through private enterprise, and a number of multi-millionaires with a passion for space flight have been able to realize their dreams of spending a few days aboard the International Space Station in exchange for a hefty ticket price. Anousheh Ansari is a wealthy American who paid $20 million for the privilege of traveling to Star City in Kazakhstan, training with a crew of the nation's astronauts and joining them for a trip to the space station. Filmmaker Christian Frei follows Ansari was she trains for her journey to the stars and examines the remains of the Russian space program as they struggle to stay afloat with cash from moneyed dilettantes in the documentary Space Tourists, which also explores how entrepreneurial space flight could also make travel to the stars cheaper and easier in the long run. Space Tourists was an official selection at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.