{"id":35574,"date":"2023-07-31T08:57:53","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T08:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entropymag.co\/?p=34642"},"modified":"2023-12-14T17:52:48","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T12:22:48","slug":"the-future-of-space-tourism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entropymag.co\/the-future-of-space-tourism\/","title":{"rendered":"The Future of Space Tourism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dennis Tito, an American businessman became the first private individual to pay for his own trip into space in 2001. He paid $20 million to Russia to fly aboard a Soyuz spacecraft and spend a week aboard the International Space Station (ISS). In other words – he was the pioneer of space tourism as we know it today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 2022, Tito had again inked a deal to travel on a one-week journey aboard SpaceX\u2019s Starship spacecraft<\/a>, this time with his wife Akiko, and 10 other paying passengers. They will be flying a path that will take them around the far side of the moon. Traveling to space for vacations may not be affordable, but it sure is possible – thanks to space tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Space Tourism?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Humans started to realize their ambitions to conquer space back in 1961, when Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin<\/a> became the first human to orbit the Earth on an adventure that lasted 108 minutes. This feat was followed by multiple milestones from others, including Valentina Tereshkova (1963) who became the first woman to fly to outer space aboard the Vostok 6; and US astronauts like Michael Collins, Edwin Aldrich and Neil Armstrong (1969), who succeeded in stepping on the surface of the Moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was followed by multiple other attempts – some unsuccessful and others successful, to send astronauts to space for research, exploration and various other experimental studies. This includes setting up the MIR space station in 1986 and then the ISS (International Space Station) in 1998. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although space has been explored time and again by astronauts and scientists, it was a novel idea to send tourists to space until Dennis Tito, an aeronautical engineer, paid Roscosmos for a trip to outer space for his flight on the Russian spacecraft, Soyuz TM-32<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Soyuz,
(Source<\/a>; Soyuz, a Russian spacecraft is designed to carry tourists in space and supplies to and from the space station.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Space tourism is the act of traveling to space for recreation, either on established government-owned vehicles like the Russian Soyuz<\/a> and the International Space Station (ISS) or on vehicles by private companies. The space tourism industry is a niche segment of the aviation industry that seeks to give tourists the ability to experience space tours for recreational, leisure, or business purposes. Obviously space tourism is an extremely expensive experience. So only a very small segment of consumers are able and willing to pay for space tours and for traveling to space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is sending Tourists to Space?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the late 2010s and early 2020s, three companies emerged as the frontrunners in the space tourism industry with advancements made to fly tourists to space: SpaceX<\/a>, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
(Source<\/a>; The three most prominent competitors in the space tourism industry are SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue origin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Elon Musk founded SpaceX with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and expanding the reach of humankind within the solar system. He hopes to build \u201c1,000 starships over a span of 10 years\u201d, helping the company to explore Mars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue Origin, LLC, founded by Jeff Bezoz, is an American aerospace, defense, space exploration company and launch service provider. Blue Origin also participated in the running to partner with NASA. Although SpaceX won that bid, Blue Origin continues its work towards space tourism. Blue Origin and Sierra Space<\/a> hope to launch their own space station, called Orbital Reef, by the late 2020s. Orbital Reef will be a commercially developed, owned and operated space station situated in low Earth orbit, with the main goal of creating a human habitat in space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virgin Galactic, was the first to openly offer space tours to civilians. Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Galactic beat Blue Origin and SpaceX, becoming the first of the three to launch his aircraft\/rocket Unity 22 toward the stars. His was also the lowest flight – just 86 km. Branson was accompanied by a crew of five. However, all further commercial space tours and the company\u2019s plans to send tourists to space have been postponed multiple times due to various factors, including manufacturing defects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other companies who are openly investing in space tourism and sending tourists in space are Orion Span (with the plans to launch the commercial space station: Aurora Space Station), Boeing, Space Adventures, and Zero 2 Infinity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2021 was a big year for Space Tourism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

2021 turned out to be a great year for enthusiasts interested in traveling to space:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. After several attempts that didn’t make it safely to landing, SpaceX’s Starship SN-15 prototype<\/a> launched its own test flight in May, 2021 and made it all the way from takeoff to touchdown.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"Starship
    (Source<\/a>; SpaceX’s Starship SN15 rocket prototype launches on a 10-kilometer test flight from SpaceX’s Starbase test site near Boca Chica Village in South Texas on May 5, 2021)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. In July 2021, Virgin Galactic launched its first operational tourist flight sending tourists to space, including founder Richard Branson. In what Branson described as “the experience of a lifetime,” there were 4 crew members and two pilots of the Unity 22 test flight. This mission flew just above the boundary of space, where everyone experienced about four minutes of weightlessness. Similarly, Blue Origin had launched Jeff Bezos to space. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      In the context of space tourism innovation, there was significant growth as well: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. SpaceX’s Starship prototype (SN-20) perched on its massive Super Heavy booster for the first time in August. This briefly set a new record for the world’s tallest rocket during preparations for an orbital mission. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. There were multiple instances of sending other tourists in space<\/a> by the different pioneers of this field, which set a good precedent for the future of private space travel. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        In short, 2021 was definitely a pivotal year for mankinds\u2019 quest for space travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Space Tourism – How are we launching tourists in space?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        For the past decade, private space tourism companies like the ones mentioned above, have been developing the necessary technology and spacecraft to launch tourists in space. They invest in suborbital flights which bring space tourists to the edge of space and back down to Earth in relatively short \u201chops\u201d with the duration lasting anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. For instance, the first nine Space Adventure clients flew orbital missions that encircled the planet for days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The method of space flight varies by company:<\/p>\n\n\n\n