While space tourism might seem like something you only see in science fiction movies, several companies are working towards that goal, and it’s quickly becoming a reality. A few lucky people have even been able to give it a try.
A Brief History of Space Tourism
Space tourism started getting real attention in the early 2000s when American businessman Dennis Tito became the first space tourist, traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. His journey marked a new era in space travel where individuals with enough capital could explore the final frontier.
Companies Working Toward Space Tourism
SpaceX
Elon Musk and SpaceX have big plans for space tourism. Their dragon spacecraft has seven seats and has already made more than 40 trips to the ISS, allowing many people to witness the splendor of space. They also have plans to send private missions to the moon and even Mars.
Blue Origin
Blue Origin is a company founded by Jeff Bezos of Amazon that is interested in space tourism. They have already designed the New Shepard rocket for suborbital space tourism, which is reusable and takes passengers to the edge of space for a spectacular view and a few minutes of weightlessness. William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in the original series of Star Trek, took one of these flights in 2021.
Virgin Galactic
Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is another company at the forefront of space tourism. Its SpaceShipTwo vehicle is a suborbital design similar in operation to Blue Origin’s New Shephard.
The Space Tourism Experience
Suborbital flights take passengers to the very edge of the Earth’s atmosphere, which is about 124 miles up, which causes you to become weightless before returning them to Earth in a trip that usually only lasts 10 – 15 minutes.
Orbital flights allow passengers much more time in space and theoretically can last days or weeks with missions that extend to the moon and other destinations.
The Future of Space Tourism
As technology improves and more companies enter the market, the cost of space travel will likely decrease, which will make it accessible to more people.
Beyond suborbital and orbital flights, companies are exploring the possibility of longer missions, including stays at space hotels and lunar excursions.
Challenges and Considerations
Despite the excitement, there are safety concerns and regulations that companies need to establish. Sending rockets into space is also bad for the environment, so companies will need to find greener solutions before it can really take off in a big way.
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