Vacation in Orbit: Yes Please!
By Avani Sharan
Team Cosmofluencer
Space Tourism as the name suggests is travelling to space for leisure or business purposes. Earlier, travelling to space was reserved for astronauts but today a lot of private companies are working towards making space tourism a reality.
Herein, the tourists experience weightlessness, high speeds and some great breathtaking views. These trips can be a quick to-and-fro or expand over a longer period of time.
Lets break down the possibilities of these vacations in space and the requirements for this trip.
A Brief History of Space Tourism
Even though Space Tourism feels like a new idea sprouting in recent times, its roots go back to the early 2000s. The world’s first ever space tourist was Dennis Tito, an American businessman, who traveled into space on 28 April 2001. He paid a mammoth amount of $20 million for a flight aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-32 and spent seven days on the International Space Station (ISS).
It was in 2021 when Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX entered the commercial space tourism and successfully launched private citizens into space that this industry took off .
Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and even William Shatner (yes, Captain Kirk himself!) became part of this new era and were one of the first space tourists.
The first Indian space tourist was Gopichand Thotakura, an aviator and commercial pilot, who was on board the Blue Origin along with five other space tourists for this short trip on 19 May, 2024.
The whole journey, from take off to landing lasted only about ten minutes wherein the members aboard floated in microgravity and saw earth from a height of approx 105km.
Types of Space Tourism
Depending on your budget and thirst for adventure, you can choose from various types of space travel – A quick trip to the edge, a true Adventure, a Space Mission (Suborbital, Orbital, Deep Space).
A Trip to the Edge: Suborbital Space Tourism
a) Altitude: 80-100 km (50-62 miles) above Earth
b) Duration: 10-15 minutes
c) Cost: $250,000 – $500,000 per ticket
d) Here the space craft reaches the edge of space near earth and the passengers experience a brief period of weightlessness for about 3 to 5 minutes before landing back on Earth.
e) Examples: In July 2021, Blue Origin’s New Shepard and Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity embarked for the suborbital flights with their respective company CEOs. In August 2023, Virgin Galactic had its first commercial flight while Blue Origin resumed its tourist flights in May 2024. In August 2024, Blue Origin made history with Karsen Kitchen on board as she became the yougest woman to reach Karman line.
A Space Adventure: Orbital Space Tourism
a) Altitude: 400 km (250 miles) above Earth
b) Duration: Several days to a few weeks
c) Cost: $50 million+ per ticket
d) This adventure involves travelling to the LEOs (Low Earth Orbits) and spending time aboard the space stations.
e) Examples: SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft used for private missions to the International Space Station. SpaceX charged the NASA rate of $72 million per seat on Polaris Dawn, a mission that stretched five days in length, or 7,200 minutes in 2024. The first ever private spacewalk was conducted by Jared Isaacman from the SpaceX Dragon capsule itself.
A Space Mission: Lunar & Deep Space Tourism
a) Orbiting or landing on the Moon, possibly Mars in the future
b) Duration: 1-2 weeks for Moon trips, months for Mars
c) Cost: Estimated at $100 million+ per seat
d) Like Neil Armstrong, for instance, the space tourists would be stepping onto the moon and making history as a Moon Tourist in this case. This is still a field in development and requires a huge lot of technological advancements.
e) Examples: Space tourism companies Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, SpaceX have plans and research ongoing for this
A checklist for this Travel
Some key points for being a space tourist is as follows:
1. A Fat Cheque/Finances – Yes, it costs hundereds of thousands of dollars for a visit to earth’s orbit. Or atleast this amount is needed until more technology comes in our future and space tourism is accessible to one and all.
2. Physical and Mental Fitness – One needs to be physically and mentally prepared for this long ride. The G-forces can put the body and mind in a lot of stress and causes certain sensory changes too.
3. Training – A short training period that includes centrifuge training to prepare for G-forces and familiarization with the spacecraft is necessary to be undergone by each and every tourist.
Overall, a space tourist does not require an astronaut level knowledge or expertise but definitely needs to prepare oneself for the fast acceleration or G-forces in a centrifuge and weightlessness by flying in a high-altitude jet plane doing parabolic arcs in an orbit above and around the Earth.
A Recreation for the Rich v/s A Development for the World
Today space tourism remains an expensive and exclusive escapade with an array of challenges. The limited availability of resources and the current premium nature of this industry make it more accessible only to those with greater financial means.
Safety risks come from a range of reasons such as technological glitches and malfunctions. Radiation exposures, environmental impact and medical emergencies pose another level of hindrance for this tourism.
Space Ahoy!
Technological advancements have truly made their way into a lot of fields and space travel is amongst them.
What was once the realm of imagination—spaceports, colonies, and hotels—are now concrete plans being pursued by leading space powers. As innovation accelerates and projects expand, space tourism will become increasingly accessible. Once it reaches a larger scale, economies of scale will drive costs down, making space travel a more viable and enriching experience for many
So are we ready for a lift-off?
References
1. Space Tourism | Britannica
2. Space Tourism | Wikipedia
3. What is space travel — and how much can a journey cost? | Indian Express