Life in Space With commercial space travel becoming a reality, focus is shifting to the innovations that contribute to an allencompassing guest experience. Words: Catherine Martin
W
hen talk of space tourism
an auction for a seat on New Shepard, set to fly
became
mainstream
its first astronaut crew to space on 20 July this
back in the early-2000s,
year. The company, founded by Jeff Bezos, has
you could be forgiven
completed a number of missions and recently
for thinking that such
invested in crew capsule upgrades to enhance
grandiose ideas were the
the astronaut experience. Elon Musk’s SpaceX
work of starry-eyed dreamers, unlikely to ever
venture meanwhile has announced its first
become a reality, not in our lifetime anyway.
all-civilian mission for later this year, with
But the past 12 months have seen giant leaps
the four-person crew taking to the Dragon
forward in the sector – bolstered perhaps by a
spacecraft for what will be a major milestone in
human desire to escape the problems of planet
the space tourism sector. In May 2021, Richard
Earth – with innovations ranging from dining
Branson’s Virgin Galactic completed its first
concepts to living spaces.
human spaceflight from Spaceport America
According to a new report from Technavio,
in New Mexico. And Axiom, which envisages
the space tourism market has the potential to
a commercial laboratory and residential
grow by US$5.16 billion between 2021-2025,
infrastructure in space, has signed a deal with
accelerating at a CAGR of 13.5%. With advances
NASA for the first private astronaut mission
in technology, more funding from private
to the International Space Station, which
investors and rising interest from enthusiasts,
could take place as early as January 2022.
the sector is set to rocket, further helped by
The astronauts will travel in style on board a
increased competition that will eventually
vessel designed by Philippe Starck, who has
make space travel more affordable.
created a nest-like accommodation module,
Major players include Airbus and Blue Origin
with materials and colours inspired by the
Enterprises, the latter of which is soon to hold
womb. While Starck has applied his hospitality
