A Launch into the Future of Space Tourism
The exclusive feeling of launching out of our planet and into space is no longer an experience only limited to trained astronauts. Beginning in 2001, seven pioneers have successfully engaged in orbital and suborbital space flights. They’re known as space tourists, and they may be at the beginning of a very profitable and exciting market appealing to adventurers who want to explore the wonders of space.
Reasons for personal space travel vary. For example, engineer and first female space tourist Anousheh Ansari conducted anemia and back pain research and also investigated the different microbes that inhabit the International Space Station (ISS). On the other hand, Richard Garriot de Cayeux used his opportunity for educational outreach to London students via amateur radio and created “space’s first newspaper” for London’s Metro News. Whatever the reason, space tourists, who sometimes prefer to refer to themselves as citizen space explorers, are passionate enough to endure medical screenings and months of training before launch. Most of the training entails experiencing high g-force (acceleration), high altitudes, and motion control. This is incredibly important for safety so members aboard spacecrafts don’t experience G-LOC (g-induced loss of consciousness) from the incredibly high acceleration that moves blood away from the brain.
If space tourism became an accessible market, could we see an age where average citizens can and, more importantly, would want to pay considerable sums to experience space travel?
Unfortunately, the expenses for space training and the travel makes the space tourism industry restricted to the incredibly wealthy, with the Russian Space Agency setting the price for missions between 20–40 million US dollars for 8–15 day flights. Still, the idea of commercial space travel and more so the experience it provides has become increasingly popular over the years with the general public. Companies such as Zero Gravity offer weightless and Lunar/Martian gravity plane experiences for around $5,000/person. Even Walt Disney World is appealing to riders seeking this thrill with their ride Mission: Space, exposing riders to a Mars expedition simulation at 2.5g using large spinning centrifuges. This begs the question — if space tourism became an accessible market, could we see an age where average citizens can and, more importantly, would want to pay considerable sums to experience space travel?
In a 2016 Telegraph article, experienced NASA astronaut Don Thomas gives a confident answer: yes, and it’s coming soon. Private companies like Virgin Galactic are beginning to capitalize on this market, reducing ticket costs to around $250,000, though no missions have been confirmed or launched despite the $80 million they’ve collected in deposits. The cheaper flights will be suborbital, lasting roughly five minutes and showing the black curvature of the Earth, though not making a full revolution around the Earth.
Other companies are venturing even further, considering the possibility of “vacations in space.” Russian company Orbital Technologies have plans for a small, orbiting space hotel where up to seven guests will go on a 300 km journey around Earth. The stay is expected to cost around $1 million, and the idea falls along with the futuristic plans for “Lunar Colonies” and longer, leisurely stays in space. Most recently, SpaceX announced that it’s aiming to send two space tourists around the moon in 2018 — the farthest that mankind has traveled in 40 years! The creation of their space crafts has been directed by NASA, and, despite this company’s difficulty meeting deadlines, their technology is ready to go. Hopefully, their passengers are prepared as well with the undoubtedly heavy price tag and potentially risky trip.
With private companies investing in commercial space travel and activities, the future looks bright for thrill seekers and researchers searching to expand their world, or rather universal, view. Perhaps soon the journey to space will be accessible and within your reach for the taking.
