Space Tourism

The future transportation technique like space elevator (explained earlier) will help in promoting space tourism due to reduction in cost of space travel. Let us see the different aspects of space tourism.

Man has been on a holiday to almost all parts of earth, however inaccessible it may be. The only place left for touring was the space, now even that's been covered too. Thanks to the first space tourist, an American businessman, Dennis Tito. He flew into space aboard a Russian rocket, Soyuz and arrived on the International Space Station on April 30, 2001 . The second space tourist, South African businessman Mark Shuttleworth, took off aboard the Russian Soyuz on April 25, 2002 , for the ISS.  

These events seem to have triggered a series of space tourism companies which have started the plans of construction of suborbital vehicles, orbital hotels, cruises to moon, etc.

Space travel is a fledging industry. It is not born out of necessity but is born out of the human desire and curiosity. It is developing for the same reasons why man went to moon.

Space tourism is a broad term and does not necessarily mean a trip in space.

It has a variety of meanings:

•  Long term stays in orbital hotels, taking part in space research, educational and entertainment oriented games in space (Space Olympics).

•  Short term trip to space.

•  Vertical and parabolic flights in well equipped aircrafts, which makes people experience short moments of weightlessness.

•  Travel and vacationing to space theme parks.

•  Use of space games and virtual reality "telepresence" to interact with either simulated or actual space hardware, including rovers on the Moon or Mars.

The main problem about space travel is actually the enormous prices to get there. It is by no means feasible for a common man to spend $20 million on a vacation.

The expensive rates are mainly because launch vehicles are not reusable. So the need of the hour is to produce launch vehicles that are reusable.

The price to go on a space vacation ranges from $50,000 to $ 25,00,000 depending on whether you want to go now or a few years later and also on the duration and nature of the tour.

In spite of the high prices people are ready to pay thousands of dollars to go on a vacation in space. This speaks volumes as to how popular space travel is. The way it is going, the space industry, like the aviation industry, is going to find that carrying passengers is going to be its main business.