Introduction:
I've been curious about space tourism ever since a good friend of mine told me that he paid $200,000 to see the International Space Station up close. The price sounded absurd — but then again, so did the concept. And now I'm nearly hard-pressed to believe that one day we'll be able to afford it: because at least for now it seems very far off. What can I say? It's frustrating.
Space travel has been a dream for humans since we discovered the possibility of leaving Earth. Since then, humans have been eager to share their life beyond Earth with people from all over the world. Nowadays, more and more studies have been done on developing space tourism and creating vehicles that can provide an affordable life on a space station.
Will space tourism ever be affordable?
The cost of spaceflight is one of the biggest challenges for commercial space travel. It's not just about the price tag on a ticket to orbit; it's also about the cost of maintaining your spacecraft once you're there.
In addition to being expensive, space travel is also dangerous and unpredictable. The first trip into orbit was risky enough — it took NASA astronaut John Glenn all but two orbits in February 1962 before he successfully landed his capsule after becoming the first American to orbit Earth — and things have only gotten more complicated since then.
The International Space Station (ISS) has been orbiting Earth since November 2000, and its primary purpose is as a research facility in low-Earth orbit (LEO). But as NASA's LEO mission progresses, it will need more power than it can get from solar panels or batteries alone. That means building an entirely new station in LEO that could be used as a fuel depot for future missions or even as an orbiting hotel where tourists could stay overnight.
It's not just NASA that wants to go to space; non-profit organizations like SpaceX and Virgin Galactic are also looking into making commercial flights into LEO possible.
Right now, space tourism is something that's available to the rich and famous. But will it ever be affordable?
The answer is a little bit complicated. On one hand, there's no reason why it can't be. The cost of launching rockets has come down dramatically over the past few years and is continuing to decline as more people get involved in space exploration.
On the other hand, you have to factor in other costs like crewing up and training astronauts for spacewalks. And then there's the issue of safety. As we've seen with the Soyuz accidents and Challenger accidents, even if everything goes perfectly on launch day, there are still risks involved with going into orbit around Earth or landing back down on Earth after a mission has ended.
It's not just about the price. The whole point of space tourism is to do something that we can't do on earth.
I would love to go on a trip to the moon. But I think it would be better if we were able to live there, rather than simply visit.
The reason is that space tourism isn't about seeing things in space; it's about doing things you can't do on earth. It's about being able to reach out and touch the stars without having to leave your house or your bed.
It would be great if space tourism became affordable, but it will never be cheap enough for me - because it's not just about money; it's about what you get out of it too.
Conclusion:
Overall, it seems that affordable space tourism is closer than we may think. Virgin Galactic is the market leader and they should start selling tickets in the coming years. We hope that other companies follow suit and continue to reduce the cost of space travel. As we approach commercialization and rocket technologies to improve, we will move closer to an era where humans can routinely travel into space.