To the moon and beyond: The space tourism industry is taking off
The space industry is undergoing a boom after a few decades of stagnation. This time around, though, the transformation has new players from the private sector
Man's fascination with space is a tale as ancient as our civilisation itself. From ancient Mesopotamia to Greece, our ancestors tracked the movements of the stars and planets and used that knowledge to tell time, navigate, and even for agriculture. It would go on to inspire our deities, myths, and stories, the remnants of which have trickled down even into modern life.
Modern interpretations and longing for space might be different in their form and scope but ultimately fuelled by the same fascination as our ancestors. Who can deny they haven't been inspired by a Carl Sagan or Arthur C Clarke book? Or swayed by the visualisations of space travel in films like 2001 Space Odyssey (written and inspired by Clarke himself)?
Since 2015, over $47bn of private capital has been invested in the space sector, marking a renewed surge in interest. That is an average growth rate of 21% per year. According to UBS, an investment banking company, the industry is predicted to be worth $900bn by 2030, of which the space tourism market alone will be $4bn.
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Space travel thus far has always been more of an unattainable dream for the common folk, exclusive to highly trained astronauts. But the last 20 years have heralded a change in the space industry, opening up new possibilities for the future. It was Dennis Tito's voyage to space aboard the Soyuz TM-32 on 28 April 2001 that marked the beginning of space tourism. At the time, Space Adventure, an American tourist company, arranged a flight with the Soyuz TM-32 mission.
It was met with disapproval and NASA recommended against Tito's mission due to his lack of training. But nevertheless, the mission was a success and Tito spent nearly eight days in space, thus heralding a new chapter in space exploration.
What is space tourism?
There are two main types of space tourism – sub-orbital and orbital. The former takes passengers just beyond the Kármán line, the internationally recognised boundary of space at 100km. These passengers spend a few minutes in outer space, floating around in their spacecraft before heading back to Earth. Orbital spacecrafts take passengers much further than the Kármán line, allowing them to spend from a couple of days to more than a week at an altitude of nearly 1.3 million feet.
At the moment, several businesses offer spaceflight, with the major players being Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and Blue Origin. There has been a boom in recent years, with several trips and new tourists.
The space industry is undergoing a boom after a few decades of stagnation. This time around, though, the transformation has new players from the private sector. NASA itself has contracted SpaceX and Blue Origin to work on their upcoming Artemis missions. Joint collaborations from both government bodies and the private sector will likely open up the industry further. We may soon even see companies that aren't tourism-focused; it could be manufacturing or commercial deep space exploration.
Since 2015, over $47bn of private capital has been invested in the space sector, marking a renewed surge in interest. That is an average growth rate of 21% per year. According to UBS, an investment banking company, the industry is predicted to be worth $900bn by 2030, of which the space tourism market alone will be $4bn.
With new funds and interest come new opportunities and technological innovations. While sub-orbital flights have a bit of a bottleneck in terms of advancement, the true allure is orbital spaceflight and the possibilities that will unlock.
The ultimate lofty ambition is to one day settle beyond the International Space Station, atop the Moon or Mars. You may remember SpaceX's claim to colonise Mars and launch a colony of a million people by 2050. While that dream is still in the pipeline, more tangible opportunities for advancement are shaping up.
NASA is planning to decommission the ISS in 2030 and is currently collaborating with private companies. The aim is to replace the ISS with private, commercial space stations that are owned and operated by a private company, allowing NASA to fully focus on deep space exploration.
There is also Axiom's commercial space station, which aims to be a free-flying, commercially run low-earth orbit (LEO) destination by 2030. The module aims to offer research, manufacturing, and tourism among its activities, further opening up the possibilities for the tourism industry.
The future awaits
However, as of now, the tourists that have visited space have been strictly in the billionaire and millionaire categories. With each trip costing as high as $50 million, these excursions are not viable for the common man. One could argue, however, that with the renewed interest in space and the massive funds being poured into the tourism industry, cheaper and more affordable space travel could be a real possibility a few decades on.
As commercial spaceflight normalises, there are still drawbacks, the full scope of which we still do not know. The risk of radiation exposure and health concerns for the average space tourist are immense and regulations are needed to protect the spacegoer, be it crew or tourist.
There is also the pollution that would come with a flourishing space tourism industry. One rocket launch emits up to 300 tonnes of carbon dioxide, which stays in the upper atmosphere for about two to three years. While tourist flights to space are still uncommon, as the industry takes off, the question is just how much it will affect our atmosphere and contribute to the pollution back down on Earth, which is currently experiencing the devastating effects of climate change.
While the space tourism industry is currently still more of a niche interest for billionaires, the dream is that one day it will be achievable for us all.
