At Ten Foot Square we tend to keep our feet on the earth when it comes to travel, but accessible space tourism is becoming a realistic prospect for the future. I say ‘accessible’ because at the moment space tourism is possible but only for those who have a couple million dollars lying around. So what is actually involved in space tourism?
A Bit of History
The concept of space tourism has been around basically ever since the late 80s when programs such as Send A Teacher to Space and Send A Journalist to Space were initiated. However, this was still for general educational purposes and it wasn’t until 2001 that the first fee-paying tourist took to the sky.
On April 28th, 2001, Dennis Tito visited the International Space Station for seven days. Since then several other people have entered space as tourists but the numbers are fairy low.
How Far Can You Go?
There a number of different types of space travel, which have different price and accessibility variables:
- Lunar Tourism: Currently, discussion about lunar tourism consists of flying around the moon and back to earth. There is no discussion of tourists actually walking on the moon but rather spending a period of time in lunar orbit. There have not actually been any lunar tourists yet.
- Orbital Tourism: During an orbital flight you enter the earth’s orbit. You circle the earth once. This is usually what ‘space tourism’ refers to. Space Adventures is the only company that offers this as the moment. Pricing starts at $30 million, though some companies are attempting to reduce this.
- Suborbital Tourism: This involves taking a trip in a reusable rocket vehicle around 62 kilometres above earth, lasting between 15 and 30 minutes. You get to clearly see the curvature of the earth and experience a few moments of weightlessness but you don’t actually circle the earth. Prices start at around $100,000.
- Weightlessness Flights: This is another way to experience weightlessness with out actually going into space. A number of different companies offer this service. Tickets are still pricey and start at around $3000 for 90 minutes.
Where to Stay
As ludicrous as it may seem, space hospitality is a major industry. Bigelow Aerospace, owned by Robert Bigelow, is working on designs for inflatable space habitats. Their first module, Genesis 1, was launched in 2006. They plan to launch the first commercial space station, named Nautilus, in 2010. They are currently offering the America’s Space Prize: a $50 million award to the first American company that designs a reusable spacecraft that can carry passengers to a Nautilus space station.