Space tourism has come a hell of a long way since the mysteries of the final frontier were unveiled to an awestruck worldwide audience by Yuri Gagarin - the first human in space - just 51 years ago.
And for the average American, watching Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969 after seeing an epic representation of what the future in 2001: A Space Odyssey, the concept of space tourism as a viable leisure activity looked achievable.
For a while, anyway. Since then things have slowed down... A lot. But then again, the SpaceX Dragon launch recently marked a pivotal moment in space history as a private enterprise went to space for the first time, while the Virgin Galactic service edges ever closer to commercial space flights with suborbital tests now taking place.
Suddenly, those Pan Am free space flight reservations to the moon issued to eager Americans in 1969 don’t look so daft.
Now, a new product has shown the possibility of space tourism being made available to the masses -- and that product is... a humble tent.
Yes, the Vango Airbeam Flux looks like any normal tent you’d find in a camping store, but on its maiden mission it managed to reach 104,000 ft, three and half times the height of Mt Everest. Better yet, it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere still in one piece.
Brave crew members, The Vangonauts, sat in relative comfort for the trip and even managed to get some pretty decent footage of the Earth. So, could this tent ever actually transport families to getaways into outer space? Never say never.
Check out the brilliant video below to see the successful mission and let us know what you think it holds for the future.