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image: Yuri Gagarin credit: space.com  In 1961, when Yuri Gagarin became the first human to journey into space, the idea of ordinary civilians doing the same felt like pure science fiction. Six decades later, that science fiction is edging closer to reality. Space tourism , once a dream confined to the pages of futuristic novels, is now emerging as a tangible industry driven by technological advances, private enterprise, and an unrelenting human desire to explore the unknown. The 21st century has ushered in a new era of space exploration, not dominated by governments, but by visionary entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson. This article explores the rise of commercial space travel , key players in the industry, current achievements, ongoing challenges, and the exciting prospects for the future. The Birth of Commercial Space Travel From Government to Private Sector SpaceShipOne Image credit: HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images For most of history, space miss...