How to Become a Space Tourist with Boris Otter and Swiss Space Tourism

By Boris Otter

Do you want to become a space tourist? Is the idea of funding such a trip well outside your personal budget?

In this book you will learn about the options available to your average person wanting to explore space travel.

In the book Boris considers the major companies offering space tourism while reflecting on its history and development. He goes on to outline his personal pursuit to become the second Swiss to travel above the Karman Line.

The book also provides details of Swiss Space Tourism's ground-breaking approach to bringing space tourism to the masses. The book details how, for only $100, you can buy a "ticket to space" with Boris Otter.

The book is beautifully illustrated with many aeronautical images from the author's personal collection and contains many links to additional video material.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Curtis Press
• Release date: Dec 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9780993400285

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Boris Otter

Space tourism is the practice of traveling into space for recreational purposes.

INTRODUCTION

My passion for aviation and astronautics started somewhere between 1981 and 1984. I was a young student when I started to follow an optional course on aviation, given every Wednesday, between 11:30 am and 01:00 pm. The teacher was an ex–Swiss Army Forces pilot, who fought in the Second World War as a commander of military aircraft. He was still an active pilot and worked as a flight instructor at the Geneva aeroclub where I was a student. Later he became my first flight instructor. During the course he taught us aerodynamics, meteorology, aircraft knowledge, navigation, air law, weight and balanced forces, and emergency procedures—well on a basic level that is, since we numbered 10–15 students aged between 12 and 14 years. But it was amazingly interesting and his passion made me a great fan of both him and aviation. To keep us all motivated he created a kind of competition between the pupils: two to three years into the course he gave us an exam, questioning what we had learned on the course. The reward was that the winner would become his co-pilot on board a Cessna or Piper aircraft, with him as the pilot in command. Second and third in the competition would take the back seats and enjoy the view!

I was so motivated that I learned almost everything by heart and consequently took first prize. That represented the starting point of it all for me—I flew my first aircraft at the age of 12.

One of our trips was to Geneva’s airport where we all had the chance to spend time on a flight simulator—for me a dream come true. I distinctly remember setting my watch timer to check how many minutes (and seconds) I had inside the simulator. Even after having spent 3 years at this school, and having moved on to another, I still requested special authorization to be able to join his course again, for a fourth and a fifth year in a row—my requests were accepted!

In 1992 he became my first ever flight instructor. We made several flights together, but unfortunately I had to continue with a younger instructor as he was getting a little too old to fly.

In the summer of 1987 I flew gliders in France, in Vinon-sur-Verdon, where I was really close to making my first solo flight. However, that milestone was postponed until I took my private pilot’s license in 1992. In 1995 I was awarded my airplane pilot’s license. I continued flying and in 1996 passed my aerobatic license in a Cap-10 aircraft.

Continuing with my passion I also passed my helicopter pilot license in a Bell 206 Jet Ranger BIII. However, the company I was training with suddenly closed and I had to restart my training in a Robinson R22 HP Beta II at the Geneva aeroclub, where I completed my license. Later, I returned to fly the Bell Jet Ranger 206 BIII in La Gruyères. I flew helicopters for 5 years (1996–2001) on a private basis, most of the time with passengers who just paid for the fuel.

Ready for takeoff on an aerobatic flight with the Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann in 2011.

Wearing the Sokol spacesuit in the cosmonaut changing room.

Copyright, L’Illustré, photograph by Blaise Kormann, April 2019.

https://youtu.be/N2d9ahNXVmc

https://youtu.be/SHxrv7cKRO4

https://youtu.be/j0chMWZoNiM

https://youtu.be/z4UyxJrta9U

In 2001 I made a major life decision. I left my full-time job as a professional fireman to start an Integrated Airline Transport Pilot License course run by Crossair Aviation Training in Basel. The course was delivered in English and was supposed to guarantee the position of co-pilot upon completion. In August 2002 I successfully finished everything. However, the world had changed over these 18 months … we were in the aftermath of September 11; on October 2, 2001 Swissair was grounded; on November 24, 2001 a Crossair Jumbolino crashed close to Zürich; and in March 2002 Swissair became bankrupt and was in part taken over by Crossair, becoming Swiss International Air Lines. At the beginning of my training we were told that all students would be employed after the formation of