Rich Americans are willing to take conspicuous consumption to new heights by spending big bucks to fly into space, including paying 0,000 for a 15-minute trip into the heavens, according to a poll released on Monday. Possibly bored by the banal baubles of mundane Mother Earth or inspired by the dashing derring-do of such pioneers as first American in space Alan Shepard and first millionaire in space Dennis Tito, the poll says 7 percent of rich Americans would pay million for a two-week orbital flight and 19 percent would pay 0,000 for 15-minute sub-orbital flight.
The poll by Zogby International was commissioned by Futron Corp., a Maryland aerospace consulting group which has a .8 million contract with NASA to explore the commercial applications of space travel, including what space tourism could look like in the next 20 years.
Zogby International conducted telephone interviews with 450 Americans whose yearly incomes exceed 0,000 or whose net worth exceeds million. The polls, conducted in January but only released Monday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percent.
Futron's NASA project program manager Derek Webber said, "We commissioned this survey in order to get an idea of what rich people think and not the man in the street who loves the idea of going into space but can't afford it."
He added, "We are saying these trips will cost a minimum of 0,000 for a 15-minute trip, which was the amount of time the first American in space, Alan Shepard, had and for that you get to feel space weightlessness and see the world from up there." that trip would take a tourist 50 miles (80 km) into space.
Webber said a surprising 7 percent of the wealthy polled said they would be willing to take a two-week flight to an orbiting space station, paying the million that the Russians charged the two pioneering space tourists who have already made the trip, South African Mark Shuttleworth and American Dennis Tito.
If the price dropped to million, 16 percent of those surveyed would be interested.
Space tourists would have to meet medical standards and only be able to go to the International Space Station.
'N Sync singer Lance Bass is currently undergoing tests to see if he could become the third space tourist. He wants to become the first entertainer in space.
　

美国日前公布的一项民意调查结果显示美国的富翁们大都原意花上大笔的钱去尝试太空旅行，比如支付10万美金在太空进行仅15分钟的航行。 也许是由于厌倦了地球上的平常的事物或是因为受到了那些勇敢者，如美国第一个太空人艾伦·谢菲尔德和第一个进行太空旅行的美国富翁丹尼斯·蒂托的鼓舞，调查结果显示有7%的美国富人愿意花2千万美元参加为期两周的太空轨道环绕旅行。还有19%的人愿意掏10万美元参加另一种只有15分钟的太空飞行。
这次的民意调查是由一家马里兰航空咨询公司Furton Corp.委托佐格比国际公司进行的，Furton公司与美国国家航空和宇宙航行局签定了价值180万美元的合同，该公司将在未来的20年中和航空和宇宙航行局合作开发太空旅行的申请的有关事宜。
佐格比国际公司对450名年收入超过25万美元或财产净值超过100万美元的美国人进行了电话采访。这次调查于今年1月开始进行，其结果本周三才公布，这样的调查结果可能存在4.7%左右的偏差。
Furton公司中负责与航天局合作项目的经理德里克·韦伯说："我们进行这次调查的目的是为了知道那些有钱人究竟是怎样看待太空旅行的，如果随便在街上找个人问他，有什么想法，结果很有可能发现他很感兴趣，但是付不起钱。"
他补充说："从艾伦·谢菲尔的经历来看，这个仅15分钟的旅行需花费至少10万美元，而对于其他即将经历这些的人来说，他们可以有机会体验失重的感觉，可以从高处俯瞰这个地球。"在旅行中，飞船将把人带到离地面50英里（80公里）的上空。
韦伯说，他非常惊讶，竟然有7%的有钱人愿意象南非富翁马克·沙特尔沃斯和美国富翁丹尼斯·蒂托一样，花2千万美元沿着轨道飞行一周。
如果可以将15万美元降至5万美元，就会有16%的人愿意参加。
参加太空旅行，游客的身体状况必须达到一定的要求，而且他们只能去国际空间站。
美国五人男子组合"超级男孩"的成员兰斯·巴斯将进行登陆太空检查，他希望自己成为娱乐界首位登陆太空的歌手。