Jaunted

According to the company, they don't owe him a refund because a medical disqualification isn't their problem, and language in the contract he signed stated as much.

Enomoto called foul, and is now in court claiming that Space Adventures was aware of his kidney stones all along. He notes that he had been cleared by the Russian Government Medical Commission and other space station partners in the weeks and months prior to his sudden disqualification, and that no changes in his health had occurred. Furthermore, he alleges the company's true reason for their disqualification was to give his seat to Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian-American businesswoman who had invested in Space Adventures and funded the $10 million Ansari X Prize.

The facts of the situation aren't that much different than what you'd read about in a travel ombudsman column - just substitute a whitewater rafting trip for the space flight - but since the stakes are so high, the parties are dealing with this in court rather than in the pages of Budget Travel. From our comfortable, conclusion-mongering armchair here at Jaunted HQ, though, it seems like they either owe the guy a space flight or a refund, because a meal voucher just won't cut it this time.

[Photo: Reuters via Yahoo! News]

Related Stories:
· Grounded Space Tourist Wants $21 Million Refund [Reuters via Yahoo! News]
· Space Adventures [Official Site]
· Space Tourism Coverage [Jaunted]