The dawn of Space Tourism

Space tourism, the idea of ordinary people venturing into space for recreational purposes, has been a dream for many since the dawn of space exploration. The history of space tourism dates back to the 1960s when Yuri Gagarin, the first human to venture into space, began a new era of space exploration. Today, with the advancements in technology and the private sector's entry into the space industry, space tourism is becoming a reality.

The idea of space tourism was first explored in the early 1960s by the Soviet Union, which was then leading the space race. They launched the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space on April 12, 1961. Gagarin's journey around the Earth, which lasted 108 minutes, sparked the imagination of people worldwide, and many began to dream of the possibility of space tourism.

In the years following Gagarin's historic flight, the Soviet Union began to explore the concept of space tourism further. They designed a spacecraft that could accommodate multiple passengers, known as the Voskhod, and started to plan for tourist flights. However, due to the high costs involved and the lack of infrastructure to support such endeavors, space tourism remained a distant dream.

In the 1980s, NASA began to explore the concept of space tourism. The Space Shuttle program, which began in 1981, was seen as a significant step towards this goal. The shuttle was designed to be a reusable spacecraft that could transport people and payloads into orbit. NASA began to envision the shuttle as a means of ferrying tourists into space, with the first flight scheduled for 1986. However, the Challenger disaster that same year put a halt to those plans, and space tourism remained on the backburner for many years.

The concept of space tourism was rekindled in the late 1990s, with the advent of space tourism companies such as Space Adventures, which began offering trips to the International Space Station (ISS). In 2001, the first space tourist, Dennis Tito, traveled to the ISS aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. This marked a significant milestone in the history of space tourism and paved the way for future private spaceflight endeavors.

Since then, several other space tourism companies have emerged, including Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and SpaceX. These companies are investing billions of dollars into developing spacecraft that can transport people into space safely. Virgin Galactic, for example, conducted it's first tourism spaceflight on July 11th 2021, carrying British billionaire and the founder of Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson, and his crew of 3 other members, Beth Moses, Colin Bennett and Sirisha Bandla accompanied by two pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, in it's spaceplane, VSS Unity. It approached the altitude of approx. 86.1 kms and the crew experienced microgravity for about 4 minutes.

Credits - IB TIMES UK

Similarly, Blue Origin, founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, launched it's first commercial space tourists aboard New Shepherd on July 20th, 2021. It carried the founder himself along with his brother Mark Bezos, Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old recent high school graduate from the Netherlands, and 82-year-old space pioneer Wally Funk. It approached an altitude of around 107 kms, crossing the Karman Line.

Credits - Blue origin

SpaceX, founded by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, is also exploring the concept of space tourism. After the successful launch of Crew Dragon, a spacecraft which carried astronauts to the International Space Station, it is planning for it's next big boom to take four civilians into space for a three-day journey around the Earth.

The future of space tourism is promising, with more and more companies investing in the development of spacecraft and infrastructure to support commercial spaceflight. However, there are also several challenges that must be overcome before space tourism can become a widespread phenomenon. One of the biggest challenges is the high cost of spaceflight, which remains prohibitive for most people. The current price of a ticket on Virgin Galactic is over $250,000, and SpaceX has not yet announced its ticket prices for Inspiration4, but they are expected to be in the same range. This means that space tourism will remain a luxury experience that is only accessible to the wealthy for the foreseeable future.

Another challenge is safety. Spaceflight is an inherently risky endeavor, and companies must ensure that their spacecraft are safe for human travel. There have been several accidents and incidents in the history of spaceflight, and companies must take all necessary precautions to avoid any mishaps.

Infrastructure is another challenge that must be addressed. The current infrastructure to support space tourism is limited, with only a handful of launch sites and spaceports around the world. More investment is needed to develop new infrastructure and facilities to support commercial spaceflight.

Despite these challenges, the future of space tourism looks bright. Space tourism has the potential to revolutionize the space industry by opening up access to space for the general public and generating significant revenue for the industry. It also has the potential to inspire a new generation of scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs who will continue to push the boundaries of space exploration.

In conclusion, the history of space tourism dates back to the early days of space exploration, but it is only in recent years that it has become a reality. With the emergence of private spaceflight companies such as Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and SpaceX, space tourism is becoming more accessible and is poised for significant growth in the coming years. While there are several challenges that must be addressed, the potential benefits of space tourism are enormous, and it has the potential to transform the space industry in the decades to come.