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Space Tourism might have sounded like a science fiction idea decades ago. But the reality is stranger than fiction, we have already started the flights to space. One day it might even be affordable for everyone on Earth. Space tourism is now available for the super riches on the planet. Is it really worth the cost? Does it benefit us?
Space tourism is nothing but normalizing space travel for everyone and using space for human recreational desires. NASA has always been reluctant to space tourism, it is considered to be a waster of money. But the private agencies have been involved in this area and the most popular companies in this domain are SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin. They are the front-runners of today's space tourism industry. Some have even passed their trial run.
Recently on 20 July 2021, Jeff Bezos left the planet and returned successfully, completing Blue Origin's first passenger spaceflight. It was launched 100 km (62 miles) above the Earth. At an elevation of 250,000 feet (76200 meters), the capsule parted, taking Bezos and his crew to the rim of space. The Craft then lowered under the parachutes and landed in the Texas desert. The flight lasted for about 10 minutes in space.
Why does Space Tourism matter?
Space Tourism could be the start of something great in the future. The audacious idea of putting people in space was well sorted by the private agencies and they have already made some progress. People have already shown interest in space Tourism. It might be more than a luxury and it could be beneficial for us in different ways. So is it really worth it? Are we draining our money?
The best part of Space tourism is that it is taken over by the private companies because they can afford to fail a few times as they are constrained only by their own money, whereas the government agencies can't afford to fail and lose money in these kinds of ambitions projects. Most of the Space agencies are funded by billionaires to gamble with their money on space tourism. If the project turns out to be successful, it would boost our economy. The private agencies can innovate even if they are on the verge of failure because of the capital advantage they have.
Advanced technologies used in space exploration could also be used to improve the technology in other domains. Private organizations are using reusable rockets to launch passengers into space, making the usual space travel cheap. Conventional rockets are highly inefficient as they can only be used once and are thrown into the ocean. By using reusable rockets, the overall space travel will become more efficient, and more trips could be taken in a year.
What will it take to become a Space Tourist?
Now the rise of space tourism has made everybody advance to space and of course, you are going to need a lot of money. Virgin Galactic has started its reservation and the tickets are booked till 2024 and one seat on the plane would cost you around a quarter-million dollars. The Space Neptune, which takes the passengers to the edge of our atmosphere and offers a 360-degree view, could cost 100K dollars.
The demands of a space tourist are not very much and the training process only takes 5 days. Yes! It is a training period for your space adventure. But there are few requirements for the trip, to climb 7 flights of Stairs in under 90 seconds and your height must be between 5' and 6' 4".
Now you got two choices to make: The Blue Origin or the Virgin Galactic. Virgin Galactic uses a plane to fly the passengers to over 80,000 meters (50 miles) and you won't be called an astronaut for that because you won't be in space technically speaking. Virgin Galactic starts its trips from 2022 onwards and the registration for the seats is open for 2025.
The Blue Origin is using rockets to lift the capsule with passengers and as it reaches space, the capsule detaches itself from the rocket. The capsule will reach the suborbital line and settles back safely with the help of a parachute. You also won't be needing a spacesuit as only the standard plane suits are used. The maiden flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft promises to take passengers around 100 kilometres (62 miles) above the Earth where they will be able to witness the grace of our planet from space.
The Future of Space Tourism
The trips of Blue Origin and Virgin Galatic are only suborbital and the only company that hopes to send humans to space is SpaceX. But the trips are going to be overpriced, 55 million dollars for a ticket to space, how is that sounding? SpaceX actually assures that the passengers will be taken on board the International Space Station.
Space tourism is expected to boost the world's economy by at least 30 billion dollars by the year 2030. Investments in space companies are pouring in. In this decade only the millionaires are going to have the access to space flights, but the companies promise to make the flights cheaper and make them affordable for ordinary citizens. It will depend on the technological growth and advancements we make in space technologies.
There is also the anticipation of faster long-distance travel on earth by this space technology. SpaceX plans to use its reusable rockets to fly 100 people around the world and the duration of the trip would just be some minutes. Space tourism could be helping the long-distance travel on Earth. Space Tourism is pretty much worth it!
