Many of us are still grappling with the concept of space tourism.
Surely space travel is reserved for those with years of training and certification?
Well, the limitations around space travel are becoming less and less inhibitory. It is still a dangerous and expensive undertaking, which means that the pool of candidates for space tourism is extremely small.
Only those with plenty of social and financial capital can buy their way into a seat aboard a commercial spaceflight. Furthermore, the rigors of space flight are still being investigated. From a medical standpoint, there are several dangers inherent to human spaceflight. Radiation exposure, muscular atrophy from zero-gravity environments, and potential bodily trauma from exposure to high g-force, to name a few.
So, what does space tourism look like now, and how will it look in years to come?
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Space Tourism In 2021
2021 was a pivotal year for the space tourism industry, as companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin performed the first commercial space flights in over a decade. In July of 2021, Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, alongside his younger brother Mark Bezos, and two other space tourists boarded the New Shepard Crew Capsule. The spacecraft completed a 10-minute sub-orbital flight before returning to the planet’s surface.
Two months later, SpaceX sent billionaire business tycoon, Jared Isaacman, noted academic Dr. Sian Procter, physician assistant Hayley Arceneaux, and air force veteran Christopher Sembroski on a 3-day low-Earth orbit flight aboard the Crew Dragon Resilience space capsule, which completed a flight to the ISS in 2020.
The latest commercial spaceflight was undertaken once again by Blue Origin, recreating their initial 10-minute sub-orbital flight with renowned Star Trek actor, William Shatner.
One final commercial flight is planned for the 8th of December 2021. This time, the passengers will be docking at the International Space Station and returning within 12 days.
The mission is being funded and overseen by Space Adventures, an American space tourism company. This is the first flight made to the ISS for purely commercial reasons; the flight will not be ferrying any crew to or from the space station.
Major Players in the Space Tourism Industry
Three organisations are currently at the forefront of the race to dominate the space tourism market: Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic. Predictions that space tourism could become a multi-billion dollar industry within the next decade have spurred on a sort of sequel to the space race of the 20th century, except now the contenders are private companies seeking to send civilians (who can afford the ticket price) out of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Currently, much attention is being garnered by Virgin Galactic’s prospective inaugural commercial flight into space, for which the ticket price is $250 000.
The current list of passengers includes several celebrity names such as Russel Brand, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, James Cameron, and lots more. CEO Richard Branson asserts that their main concern is developing safe and reliable commercial spaceflight, and that they are not in a “race” to dominate the market. Their failed 2014 test flight in the VSS Enterprise, which led to the death of co-pilot Michael Alsbury, stood out among several severe setbacks in Virgin Galactic’s mission to pioneer commercial spaceflight.
SpaceX, under the guidance of founder Elon Musk, envisions its commercial future in terms of four milestones. Namely, they are sub-orbital flight, transfers to the ISS, trips to the moon, and finally, trips to Mars. They have already completed successful sub-orbital flights, low-Earth orbit flights, and ISS transfers. Their focus is set to perfect these processes while preparing for the more distant future that will hopefully see civilians landing on the moon, and eventually Mars.
Space flight is also being considered as an alternate means to air travel, with SpaceX envisioning a 40-minute flight from New York to Shanghai aboard their Starship rocket, which is currently in development. Some experts caution against becoming too optimistic about seeing such advances in the near future, as the technology as it stands is nowhere near safe or reliable enough to be opened up for commercial use.
After their resounding success in 2021, Blue Origin has several commercial launches planned for 2022. Like their most recent flights, paying passengers will be launched into space aboard the New Shepard, orbit for 10 minutes, experience weightlessness, and see the Earth from space. As it stands, a ticket aboard the New Shepard will run you $450 000.
Projections for Interest for Space Tourism
There are several obstacles between a booming space tourism industry and the companies that want to make that a reality.
Firstly, according to a report on market interest in space tourism from 2002, the physical impact of spaceflight is a major concern among most prospective passengers. After hearing the potential complications that could accompany spaceflight, 12% of respondents change their answers regarding their willingness to embark on such a flight.
Another salient factor is, of course, price. 49% of respondents were not willing to pay over $25 000 for a ticket to space, while only 16% were willing to pay the going rate for Virgin Galactic’s most ambitious project, $250 000. It should be noted that only those with a net worth of at least $1 million participated in the survey. For commercial spaceflight to become a truly pervasive tourist activity, prices will have to fall significantly.
Interestingly, 20% of respondents cited their primary reason for wanting to go to space as a desire to do something very few have done before. In other words, a significant portion of respondents viewed pioneering as the biggest motivational factor for their interest in spaceflight.
This suggests that once spaceflight becomes more commonplace amongst civilians, a large percentage of prospective passengers may lose interest, which could have an impact on market predictions. Other motivational factors included seeing the Earth from space and experiencing weightlessness, which were rated as very important by 63% and 24% of respondents respectively.
These factors certainly haven’t and will not change, providing a strong basis of motivation for commercial spaceflight.
Given the opportunity, would you blast off?