spacetourism
I remember in the late 80s and 90s, shortly after the Cod War, space looked like the last thing left to conquer for the free-market world and space tourism looked like it would soon become reality.
All that excitement sort of disappeared in the late 90s, as government spending on space-related projects dwindled, and people just simply lost interest. Those with little imagination or overly conservative mindsets (especially about the environment, surprisingly, despite the fact that knee-jerk liberals are considered... well... liberals) were often absolutely against such an idea... building more big solid-fuel rockets? Oh no!
I even have a book from way back when that outlined the possible future of space tourism and a timetable for how things might proceed. I set it aside as fiction some time ago. I found it last time I was home and I was amazed at how close we're getting these days.
When I first mentioned Virgin Galactic on the blog some time ago I was understandably excited... this kind of thing is momentous. In the last few years, interest in space tourism has come back... EADS (the Europeans) have jumped in the game... and orbital living areas, after the success of the ISS, are being proposed and worked on by several major groups. Even Hilton's taking a jab at making a Space Hotel (Space Islands, to be renamed Hilton Orbital Hotel on completion). Space Adventures, the guys who've been sending people up with the Russians, are going to do lunar orbital flights at $100M a head.
Right now, of course, Virgin remains the most enticing. Though the first tickets will be expensive their reusable SpaceShipTwo stand the highest chance of being brought down to affordable (for a space flight!)...
I may or may not live to see a day when I myself can go... but either way, it's exciting stuff.