First man to spend a day in space5/18/2023 Sub-orbital means that you’re not high enough to actually orbit the earth, but as the goal is to pass the 100km line that marks the edge of space, you will technically be in space, and also experience weightlessness. Part of the Virgin Group headed up by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic is planning to offer sub-orbital flights to paying passengers aboard their SpaceShipTwo and SpaceShipThree craft. But that’s all set to change in the coming years, and these are the companies with whom you are most likely to be able to travel. Other than flagging down a passing UFO Ford Prefect style, or signing up to be an astronaut with a government agency, getting into space is a bit tricky. Let’s take a look at the main players with whom you have a real chance of getting into space within the next few years. There are three main players in the space tourism business right now – Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and Blue Origin. Other organisations though, see the potential for space based tourism as a way to generate funds and publicity for their projects. ![]() ![]() Their focus is on long term scientifically focused exploration missions, with perhaps the most exciting being NASA’s Journey to Mars. Whilst massive government organisations like NASA, the Russian Space Agency and the European Space Agency are always researching and expanding their space exploration efforts, their focus isn’t exactly on getting folks like you and me into space – at least not in the near term. Quite the opposite! I’d argue that we’re on the cusp of space travel opening up at a more affordable (if still not exactly budget) price point. Has the space tourism boom already ended? Plus, all these trips took place between 2001 & 2009, and despite demand from wealthy individuals, there currently isn’t a way to get into space as a non-government astronaut. ![]() So to call them space tourists is perhaps a bit of a misnomer.Īs you can see, getting into space right now as a private individual is not exactly something for your average, or even moderately wealthy traveller. These weren’t exactly hop-on hop-off trips either, with the participants undergoing months of training, and many of them actively running their own experiments in space. Up to 2009, only 7 people made it into space as tourists, all travelling with the Russian Space Agency, and all paying in excess of USD $20 million. Admittedly, right now, space tourism isn’t exactly accessible. Huge strides are happening right now in space exploration, particularly with private companies looking at opening up space to your average person.
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