Space Tourism: A Holiday for the Few?

At a time when the world is facing a pandemic and even travelling around our home planet involves a certain level of risk, it is worth remembering that there is another destination that remains an impossible dream for many and an incredible opportunity for a select few: space. Today, we will look at the prospects for space travel and the companies working to send people directly into the vacuum beyond Earth.

Of course, planning a trip may now involve more variables than before. Still, there are companies determined to make space travel available to people who are not astronauts, although some of the requirements may be almost as demanding as those for professionals. These private companies aim to keep space tourism a promising and growing sector. They plan to offer different types of journeys for those bold enough to take the leap—and able to pay the required price.

Unfortunately, this is an exceptional experience that only a few people will be able to afford. It is unlikely to become more budget-friendly in the coming decades, or perhaps for much longer.

Yet there is demand from the wealthy people whose hands hold considerable financial resources. For everyone else, it will be possible only to watch these projects unfold and follow the travellers themselves.

For those who can afford this unique experience, no price is too high if it means becoming pioneers and taking their first flight into space.

One of the most famous announcements of such a journey came from Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. He said that he would be the first to fly around the Moon, taking with him six to eight artists for an art project he had created. He intended to do this in 2023 or later. Everything depended on SpaceX’s development of its BFR rocket, later renamed Starship, which was intended to carry these future explorers into space. He first mentioned the plan back in September 2018, so there was still some waiting to do. Opinions on the project remained divided: some said it was merely a marketing move designed to attract attention. But delivering on the promise would attract no less attention—and could inspire many future pioneers of space tourism.

It may come as no surprise that one of the companies selling tickets to space is backed by one of the boldest inventors of our time, a man who has become the subject of countless internet memes: Elon Musk. He founded the spacecraft manufacturer in 2002, and many of its developments have already become reality, impressing with both their ambitious ideas and practical approach.

By creating reusable launch vehicles and a passenger version of a spacecraft, Musk has steadily pursued his goal of colonising Mars. The company’s resources are vast, and it seeks to use them to ensure the quality of its inventions. As a result, it has secured a leading position among space companies. Its contracts with NASA, along with its proven safety record and product quality, only reinforce that standing. So, by buying a ticket for a spacecraft that had not yet been built, Yusaku made a fairly sound choice.

But who else has decided to develop space tourism on Earth?

SpaceX has competitors, and perhaps this is what is pushing Musk’s company to send tourists into space as soon as possible—not straight to the Moon, but somewhere closer first. Space Adventures was expected to offer these flights.

Virgin Galactic has also kept pace and does not want to lose its chance to be among the first to offer flights beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

Of course, this is less ambitious than a journey to the Moon. But travelling 80 kilometres above the planet in a spacecraft is an enticing experience too: feeling weightlessness and seeing the whole world as if from a satellite. For many people, nothing more is needed to fulfil their dream of being in space.

The trip planned by its CEO, Richard Branson—known for discovering composer Mike Oldfield and founding Virgin Atlantic Airways—would last around two hours after launch and cost approximately $250,000. Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft and certificates were already ready, and the first flight was planned for the near future.

The company already had more than 600 bookings from 60 countries, forecasting revenue of $80 million and potential profit of $120 million. The latest news from the British company suggested that Virgin Galactic would hold talks with Italy and the United Arab Emirates about establishing an operational base.

The third contender is Blue Origin. Founded by Jeff Bezos, then the world’s richest person, the company also received multimillion-dollar agreements with NASA and, like SpaceX, wanted to send tourists into space. The project centres on the New Shepard spacecraft, a rocket-and-capsule system with a capsule that can carry up to six travellers. Its first flight was also expected that year.

Although space travel has been taking place for several decades, its physical and psychological demands are not something everyone can meet. Elon Musk himself announced that trips to Mars would be open to “everyone,” offering details such as ticket prices while overlooking key questions—such as how well future settlers of Mars would cope with psychological and physical testing.

Psychological assessments are likely to be mandatory for anyone who decides to take a journey into space. Space inside a capsule is quite limited, and spending several days in close contact with other people is a social experiment too delicate to leave to chance.

However, these concerns may not matter much to those whose grand ambition is to reach space. Would you like to have such an opportunity, or should these flights remain a reality reserved for only the world’s wealthiest people?