The Era of Space Tourism to Begin This Year

Blue Origin, a major private player in the space industry, successfully launched its reusable New Shepard rocket yesterday for the 10th time, moving yet one step closer to sending humans to space as tourists. The mission lasted 10 minutes and 15 seconds and reached an altitude of 107 kilometres. Inside the rocket was a capsule in which the company plans to send humans to space. Experts predict that the first suborbital tourist will go up to space by the end of this year.

New Shepard is a reusable rocket, with virtually every element of its system available for reuse.

The two main parts — the launch vehicle and the capsule — disconnect at the height of 100+ kilometres above Earth, and the space tourists get to experience weightlessness while observing breathtaking views.

The General Director of the private space company KosmoKurs Pavel Pushkin said that the Blue Origin launch was in full compliance with the flight program.

“This launch is another serious step towards the beginning of the era of suborbital tourism. There were payloads onboard, and it can be said that the launch was commercial. I think by the end of 2019, we will see the first flight of suborbital tourism. There is even hope that by summertime, the first human — although not a tourist — will successfully take this flight,” Pushkin told Asgardia Space News.

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