For decades, traveling to space has been a fantasy reserved only for astronauts. However, recent advancements in private spaceflight are bringing the possibility of space tourism within reach for ordinary citizens seeking an extraordinary adventure.
Companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic are developing technologies to take humans safely to the outer edges of our atmosphere and beyond. Could commercial space travel for leisure and adventure be the future of travel? Let's explore the possibilities and potential for space tourism.
Early Projects Launching Space Tourism
One of the first businesses to lay the foundation for space tourism was Space Adventures, which began in 1998 by brokering deals for wealthy individuals to pay Russian space agencies for trips to the International Space Station. While expensive, these flights proved the viability and demand for commercial space travel outside of government programs.
More recently, companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic have all initiated their own programs specifically geared toward space tourism with the ultimate goal of offering routine trips to space.
SpaceX’s Dragon capsule has already taken NASA astronauts to the ISS, demonstrating the capabilities needed for human spaceflight. Meanwhile, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are both developing reusable suborbital launch systems that could take paying customers on brief trips to the edge of space and allow them to experience weightlessness and see the earth from above the atmosphere.
Suborbital vs Orbital Spaceflight Options
There are currently two main categories for commercial space tourism - suborbital and orbital flights. Suborbital flights would involve rocket-powered spacecraft that reach space briefly but do not go fast or high enough to achieve a circular orbit around Earth. Think of it as a high-speed, high-altitude airplane ride to the edge of space lasting several minutes with several minutes of weightlessness.
Orbital spaceflights, on the other hand, would circle our entire planet and allow passengers to experience extended periods in microgravity while viewing Earth from space for days at a time through a large window. Of course, orbital flights require much more advanced and expensive rocket technologies.
Pioneering Projects on the Horizon
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Meanwhile, several spaceflight companies are actively developing systems to make both suborbital and orbital space tourism a reality within the next few years. Let's look more closely at some of the leading projects:
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic has developed a reusable spaceplane called SpaceShipTwo that is air-launched from a carrier aircraft. After several setbacks, Virgin Galactic is planning for SpaceShipTwo to begin taking paying customers on suborbital spaceflights as early as 2023. Passengers will experience about 5 minutes of weightlessness around the 62-mile boundary of space and can purchase tickets currently priced around $450,000.
Blue Origin
Founded by Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket/capsule system has already completed numerous successful uncrewed test flights to space and back. Blue Origin plans to begin flying passengers on 11-minute suborbital flights from West Texas by early 2023, with tickets thought to be priced around $200,000-$300,000. They have had strong interest from those signing up for passenger waitlists.
SpaceX Dragon
While SpaceX’s main focus remains its work with NASA, SpaceX is also laying the groundwork for orbital space tourism flights using its fully reusable Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule. SpaceX has confirmed two private citizen crews who have paid tens of millions for 3–5-day trips to the ISS possibly beginning later this year using upgraded Dragon capsules. SpaceX also has plans for a larger Starship vehicle which could take travelers even further on longer missions to the moon and Mars in the future.
Challenges and Risks of Early Space Tourism
Of course, as with any new frontier, space tourism in its early stages faces various challenges and risks that will need to be overcome to transition it from a novelty experience for the ultra-wealthy, to routine orbital and interplanetary travel opportunities available to average travelers one day. Some of the biggest hurdles include:
High Costs
With current launch technologies relying on expensive, expendable rockets, the capital and operating costs of sending payloads and humans to space remain enormous. Reusability is helping to drive down costs significantly, but more innovation will be needed to enable affordable and frequent access to space for the masses.
Safety and Reliability
Rocket and spaceflight technologies will need many successful test flights under their belts to demonstrate the extremely high safety and reliability standards required before large numbers of non-professional space tourists can be comfortable flying. Early passengers are taking on greater risks than on more established forms of transportation.
Medical and Health Effects
Longer duration spaceflight raises questions regarding health effects of microgravity and space radiation exposure. More research is needed to understand potential risks and how to mitigate problems like muscle and bone loss that could endanger passengers on orbital and deep space missions over weeks or months.
Potential Growth of the Industry
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However, if the pioneering companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic can successfully carry out their launch schedules and commercial operations over the next 5-10 years as planned, it may demonstrate that safe and relatively affordable access to space is viable.
This could unleash enormous demand from wealthy adventure seekers, government and research clients, and even some ordinary citizens able to save up or take loans to fulfill their dream of a spaceflight experience. As costs continue to decline, public interest and space tourism could really start to take off as a routine part of the travel industry worldwide. The future appears to be getting closer for anyone seeking new frontiers of travel far beyond anything our planet has to offer.