Space Tourism: Exploring the Yosmos for Everyone

When I was younger, I used to stay up late staring out of the window next to my bed, my warm breath obscuring the cold shiny glass. I can still picture myself soaring beyond Earth's atmosphere, experiencing the thrill of weightlessness and gazing at the vast expanse of the universe. Entering a Starship as I marveled at the sparkling stars and the pure night sky above, I recalled seeing the roar of my starship's engines and the reverberating boom of the aircraft flying over my house while I was being transported into the vast reaches of the Yosmos. I can recall having dreams of landing in distant worlds, discovering their strange habitats, and staring out into their enormous vistas. My young self had no idea such a scenario would very possibly become a reality soon.

Hey there, fellow space enthusiasts! I'm back and ready to explore the wonders of the cosmos with you once again. For those who don't know me yet, I am Yosmonaut Yash Mittal, back again full of passion to intrigue you with the possibilities of space mysteries.

You might not notice it, but we’re witnessing a massive change in the space industry, and it will revolutionize the landscape and allow completely new paths for a lot of companies and startups. The game changer I am talking about is space tourism. It might not seem that important at first, but trust me, the impact of it will be huge.

Is It Just for the Rich?

At this point, a lot of you might be skeptical. I mean, isn’t space tourism just another toy for really rich guys to play with? Does it really have anything to do with the actual space industry? To some extent, you are right. At the moment, space tourism doesn’t really look like a lot. The whole thing really took off in 2021.

Basically, we have two main branches of operations:

Suborbital Space Tourism

First is suborbital space tourism. This is where Jeff Bezos’s space company Blue Origin’s New Shepard and Richard Branson's company Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo come into the picture. It is a relatively short-term flight, which takes its clients to space for several minutes and then goes back to Earth. It might not sound that exciting, but it lets you see the darkness of space and the curvature of the Earth from the windows and to fly in weightlessness for a little while doing all sorts of somersaults.

Orbital Space Tourism

The second branch is much bigger. It goes to orbit and possibly beyond. One can either go to the ISS and hang out there for several days. This is what Axiom Space is offering as a service. Or they can stay in a Crew Dragon for several days and come back to Earth without docking anywhere. This is what SpaceX is doing at the moment. In 2021, the first all-civilian crew went to space aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, marking a new era in space tourism where everyday people can experience spaceflight.

The Economics of Space Travel

SpaceX also plans to use its Starship rocket to fly 100 people around the world in mere minutes. The company stated that a 15-hour flight to Shanghai from New York would be capable of flying in 39 minutes. According to UBS, if even only five percent of the average 150 million passengers that travel on 10-hour or longer flights pay $2,500 per trip, then returns could skyrocket to 20 billion dollars per year in today's value.

What if you save up to 6 crore rupees and are in India? Around 2030, you could take the space trip which the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to begin around that time, and those who can take the trip can call themselves astronauts. Senior officials at ISRO say that work on the government's space tourism module is gaining momentum. According to former ISRO chairman K. Sivan, the space travel module will be both safe and reusable. Scientists say that ISRO is likely to partner with private firms to develop the proposed space travel modules.

Taking a ride on a New Shepard should eventually cost several hundred thousand dollars. So, it’s like buying a Maserati Quattroporte. Whereas a seat on a Crew Dragon going to orbit should cost tens of millions of dollars. That’s closer to buying a gold-plated Bugatti Veyron. On April 28, 2001, the world's first private astronaut Dennis Tito paid an estimated 20 million dollars to board the Soyuz TM-32. The American businessman traveled to and from the International Space Station for over eight days.

Why Space Tourism is Important

With the current state of the industry, how is it going to change space exploration? I believe that the main thing is that space tourism can be an independent source of income for private space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin, and many others who can get themselves involved in the space race.

Up until now, space was absolutely dominated by governments. They were the only ones who could afford to go there and do something meaningful. Now things are starting to change. We see the rise of private companies that can attract capital by providing their services independently of government agencies. The value of the global space market is predicted to reach $1.4 trillion by 2030.

What the space industry has been building so far is the infrastructure that allows reliable and relatively affordable access to space. We are now at the point where people can actually start using it. Space tourism is one of the most obvious things that can be a foundation for a free economy in space.

The Future

It's not a competition between two superpowers anymore; instead, it's a far more collaborative effort. Things will advance further by the middle of the century, and there will be an increase in the number of countries that join the space club. Astronauts will be sent to the Moon by additional space agencies, and crewed missions to Mars will be launched.

Five years ago, it would be hard to imagine a mission like Inspiration4 that would carry civilians with no previous flight experience to space. In another 5 years, we might see another transformation with projects like Starship, which can make it ordinary to put tens of people in space on a single launch. Without private initiatives, everything will go much slower. The range of solutions will massively expand, the range of businesses that can get involved will also get much bigger, and whole new industries can be created that will operate in space.

Thanks for tuning in, space travelers! It's been a thrilling ride exploring the incredible potential of space travel and tourism with you today. Remember, the sky is no longer the limit; it's just the beginning. Let's keep dreaming big, pushing boundaries, and making the impossible a reality. Until next time, keep reaching for the stars!