Space Tourism News Roundup: July 2017
Let’s talk about space – yes, it’s going to change the travel industry.
The month of July 2017 was arguably the best month yet for space tourism.
While it wasn’t a month full of rocket launches, test flights, or the first space tourist in low earth orbit, it was the first time that we’ve seen mainstream travel industry publications discussing the implications of space tourism for the industry.
It was also an incredibly busy month for space tourism companies and government organizations. On a global scale, the momentum in the space tourism industry is growing, and we’re on the cusp of the industry jumping from ‘a cool idea’ to ‘a awe-inspiring reality.
Stay tuned for future roundups published on the first Thursday of each month.
The Philosophy & Business of Space Tourism
Discussions on the possibility and viability of taking people to space.
As we’ve seen in months past, the philosophical debate about space tourism has begun to quiet down. It seems that most of the nay-sayers have gone quiet, at least for now, as we wait to see how the companies in the field will handle their responsibility.
That said, there are still some wider discussions happening about humanity’s responsibility for caring for space, and where that falls:
There’s also been some discussion about how this is the second wave of space tourism. Many of the companies that first entered the industry have shuttered or struggled for years, and it makes some ask: “what makes it different this time?”
Jeff Bezos had a good month from a news/PR perspective. He also released a short glimpse at his manifesto for humanity in space (hint: it’s bigger than Elon’s… for now):
This article stirred up a lot of discussion on Twitter, hence being placed in the philosophy section rather than in another category. Again, the core of the conversation was about humanity’s responsibility to care for space:
Space Tourism Industry News
News about the businesses currently making waves in space tourism.
As mentioned above, there was a lot of movement in the industry. The biggest private US players all had major headlines; many non-US governmental organizations are also clamoring for space in space.
At the end of the beginning of our discussion, it all comes down to money. When trying to answer “why now?,” it matters that there are some really wealthy individuals driving the industry:
SpaceX had a good month for launches (we hesitate to say “as usual” as it’s insanely hard to be good at launching rockets), prompting some publications to say they’re paving the way for space tourism. Despite the fact that SpaceX is not (and likely never should be) considered a space tourism company, it’s an interesting thought:
Virgin Galactic came back into the headlines this month with more good news. Though most companies are reticent to release their launch timelines, Virgin is hopeful for test flights soon and commercial trips by the end of 2018. It’s looking like 2018 will be a very good year:
The U.K. seems to see the opportunity for non-launching countries to still be relevant in the global space tourism economy, and has begun to do their part:
China too, is eager to be involved. Though their launch in July was unsuccessful, be prepared for many more headlines (likely positive ones) about the Chinese space agency in the next few years.
India getting in on the fun too:
Lest we forget — among the slew of exciting headlines — that the industry is still extremely challenging to succeed in, XCOR (established 1999 as part of that first wave of space tourism) announced their staff would be completely let go as they attempt to salvage the business:
More discussion of the major US private companies bringing space closer to the masses. Eventually headlines like this will stop showing up since it will just be a given that these three men are inventing the industry:
Scotland is eager to open a space port, so there have been an exciting number of headlines about the role they think they can play:
Though rockets are in the spotlight, Zero 2 Infinity is working hard to master their balloon + pod technology over in Europe:
“Old school” space tourism (aka really wealthy people paying to go to the ISS — the only LEO destination) is still happening, as evidenced by this headline about a tourist from Asia who:
More headlines — actually this should be more accurately described as a post-mortem — about XCOR’s layoffs:
The German space agency has partnered with Blue Origin — hopefully a lucrative partnership for the latter so they can get to a consistent launch schedule sooner:
Space Tourism News
News related to the tourism trends and pressures surrounding space tourism.
When this headline broke, it brought forth a resounding “finally!” Travel Weekly is the first travel trade publication to realistically look at the potential impact of space tourism on the travel industry. It’s a fascinating read:
One of our July headlines, all about the solar eclipse. Who’s getting excited? As predicted, this will be the largest global space tourism activity of the year (probably the decade):
Space Tourism in Pop Culture
On the lighter side…
In case you missed our late June headline about gifts for space tourists, here’s a friendly reminder:
NASA celebrated 20 years of robots on Mars in early July, and National Geographic put together a great album to show how far we’ve come and how much we’ve learned:
This is a fun listen. A science writer and astronomer teamed up to release a book imagining the galaxy as we might someday visit it. It’s part of a larger creative project to inspire people to think of space as an exciting, imaginative destination:
Google partnered with the ISS to map the inside of the station. It’s super cool if you’ve wondered what it’s like inside (and haven’t been in the full-scale replica at Johnson Space Center):
Bezos’ also made headlines for a smart bit of social PR on Instagram:
This isn’t quite pop culture, but we’ve been keeping our eyes on the International Dark Sky Association and their work to preserve dark skies. We’re looking forward to partnering with them in the future to help in their mission. Read more about how Joshua Tree has been designated:
