Space Tourism Heats Up While many space companies have been butting heads, a new type of space exploration has emerged. The futuristic idea of space tourism is causing companies like Blue Origin, Virgin Galatic, and SpaceX to race to become the leaders in public space transportation.
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pace tourism is something that used to be seen as a cool getaway in a science-fiction story rather than reality, but as a new age in science is rising, it is causing many changes in that opinion. Space exploration is now a business as ultra-wealthy billionaires compete to capitalize on the unique opportunity of commercializing space and expanding upon the meaning of “a once in a lifetime opportunity.” SpaceX’s first-ever crewed orbital mission (Inspiration 4) without professional astronauts has paved a new road for the future of private spaceflight. With a successful splash down landing in Florida, Inspiration 4’s first three-day trip around Earth that launched on Sept. 16, caused an increase of interest in space exploration. With that, many new companies and initiatives are hoping to jump on the trend soon. As space tourism starts to develop and opens more doors to more people, it will allow the public to understand the future of space exploration better. Now, with their objectives, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Richard Bran-
WORDS by JINLING WANG ART by CLAIRE TOLLES
son’s Virgin Galactic, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX are advancing in space mechanics and space tourism and moving towards the goal of including space travel into regular commutes, where typical citizens have the opportunity to travel to space as a vacation destination at speeds never seen before. With space tourism, the prospects of traveling to space are becoming more apparent to humanity. We continue to be enthralled by the idea that traveling to space opens a platform of ideas. Space travel shows the capabilities of humankind and how much more of the universe is left undiscovered. As space travel becomes more developed, the cost of going to space will decrease, including ticket prices. With 8,000 currently people holding a reserved ticket aboard the Virgin Galactic flight, Richard Branson had to put a cap limitation. With any new technology or recreational experience, it is always the most expensive when it is first released. Just pondering the possibility of a future with Americans vacationing in space allows people to con-
nect to space, opening a likelihood for us in the foreseeable future. How quickly it develops, however, is anyone’s guess. One ticket from Blue Origin sold for $28 million makes it clear that the average person is more likely to win the lottery before getting chosen by NASA to become an elite astronaut, not to mention the deep pockets needed for this expensive thrill ride for a spot aboard Virgin Galactic’s six-passenger Unity spacecraft, which is currently being sold for around $450,000 a piece. The current prices to access space are astronomical: the only people who could ever afford it at the moment are a small percentage of the ultra-wealthy, making its hefty price tag its primary criticism against investing in space travel. Another complaint is that funds for space tourism could be used to solve issues here on Earth, including climate change. With so many eyes on space travel, many believe that the costs for space tourism are a distraction from more critical societal problems. Besides most of the concerns revolving around funding, another criticism of space tourism is its lasting environmental impact.
