Peggy whitson astronaut cbs

America's most experienced astronaut says her fully commercial visit to the International Space Station this week is a critical stepping stone on the road to space tourism, private-sector orbital research and development of commercially operated space stations.

In a space-to-ground interview with CBS News, retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, veteran of three NASA flights with a U.S.-record days in orbit and 10 spacewalks to her credit, compared the early days — and high costs — of commercial spaceflight with the dawn of commercial aviation when only the wealthy could afford to fly.

"Back in the '30s, '40s, as commercial aviation was developing from something that started off initially as (an) all government (initiative), it was a long process before it was something that became every day to us," she said.

"But it's incredibly important if we want to increase access to space for as many people as possible that we get started somewhere.

And this is a first step."

E A retired astronaut, a wealthy adventurer and two ... - CBS News TYZI