The twenty-somethings reading this still have a chance. But we living fossils who remember watching the moon landing have sadly come to the conclusion that, unless we have the value of a nice house sitting in our disposable income fund, the chance at even suborbital space travel will pass us by.

So let’s move onto the next best thing. Over the last several months, a combination of a small windfall, an end-of-the-year discount, and my own fiscal irresponsibility have conspired to give me a shot at that next best thing – parabolic flight simulating zero gravity. The modified 727 operated by Zero-G Adventures only flies if enough participants sign up, and I got the word earlier today that my mission will be flying. So barring unforeseen circumstances, I’ll be celebrating my next birthday by floating around somewhere out over the Atlantic, off the coast of Florida.

I’ll report back with photos and a description of the experience. Hopefully there’ll be a story in there somewhere. And, in my own small way, I can take comfort in having contributed incrementally to demonstrating the viability of space tourism as a business model.