The third decade of this new millennium brought with it the normalization of space tourism. Two companies are launching suborbital options to offer those who want to live the unparalleled experience of seeing the Earth at a height that surpasses any commercial flight.
Is about Virgin Galacticwith its suborbital flights officially launched for three clients, and Blue Originwhich has already been tested with a private test mission in which the owner of this company, Jeff Bezos, participated.
The world waits for SpaceX to soon join in, with an initiative that will surpass the two mentioned, because Elon Musk’s company will literally offer the astronaut experience to its customers.
A note of Infobae explains something very interesting: the limitations of space tourism are space itself and nothing else. There is no hotel with breakfast included, a three-day tour of a space archipelago, or a room offering an orbital spa day.
It’s going to space and nothing more. SpaceX’s plans aim to nurture this offer, and in a future that we may not see, include trips to the Moon, with a hotel included or to a space station that will serve as an exclusive accommodation site: both are real projects.
However, for now, they are exclusively for billionaires. Tickets for Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin suborbital flights are around $450,000. While SpaceX’s initiatives, in which they go into Earth’s orbit, would cost tens of millions of dollars.
Tourism expert Rachel Fu estimates that it could take a decade (or perhaps more) for space travel to become a possible experience for the middle class.
“The costs of space travel are extraordinarily high and require cutting-edge technology and immense resources. Hopefully, with technological advances and the possible entry of more players into the industry, we could see a gradual reduction in costs,” he stated as reported. Infobae.