Once

Once
the stuff of science fiction, space tourism is now a
reality in which the only thing that’s far out is the distance from
terra firma. We’re jet-propelling ourselves through the rise of
space travel and what it means for the environment, past the
companies pioneering reusable rockets and hotels in orbit, to how
you can land the hottest tickets on the planet.

Far out: a brief history of space tourism

For the uninitiated, space tourism means travelling into space
for recreational purposes. It covers journeys that are in and
around Earth’s orbit (typically for a whirlwind 10-minute
experience or a few days’ stay in the International Space Station)
and beyond – that being to places such as the Moon and Mars.

To date, only Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, has taken
private citizens into orbit. In the Noughties, operator Space
Adventures orchestrated seven tourists’ journeys on the Soyuz
spacecraft to the ISS – with a sky-high price tag of around $20
million per passenger. Those travelling included engineer Dennis
Tito, entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari and Cirque du Soleil co-founder
Guy Laliberté.

Nevertheless, in 2010, Russia halted orbital space tourism as it
prioritised seats for ISS’s growing crew, including American
astronauts. Since 2011, when Nasa retired its Space Shuttle, the US
agency has been paying an estimated $90 million (£70 million) for
seats aboard Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft (the US and Russia have
cooperated in space since the signing of the Outer Space Treaty in
1967, and today the two nationalities are among most common in the
ISS on-board team).

One small step for man, one giant leap for space
capitalism

In a bid to reserve its time and resources for deep-space
exploration, Nasa created the Commercial Crew Program to outsource
the transport of cargo and crew to private companies, thereby
shifting the players in the space race – it’s no longer between
countries but private companies (and their billionaire astropreneur
founders).

As the commercial marketspace pushes its way through the
atmosphere, a report from the Federation of Aviation
Administration has predicted that space tourism could become a
billion-dollar market within the next decade – unsurprising,
considering the astronomical bill that’s expected to come with
tickets that, at present, have varied between the equivalent of
£200,000 and £16 million.

Reaching for the stars: the major players you should know

Want to become a space tourist? These are the companies that may
help your space-age dream become reality.

How might commercial space travel impact the environment?

While there’s lots of fuss being made over reusable rockets,
it’s not exactly the same as bringing a tote bag to the
supermarket. Sure, they won’t be frazzled up in the atmosphere or
decay at the bottom of the ocean, but they’ll still burn a lot of
rocket fuel to launch – the real bonus of reusing rockets is to
bring down the price of tickets.

A 2010 study, partly funded by Nasa, predicted
that an expanding commercial marketplace in space could spell
trouble for climate change and the ozone layer as hundreds of
tonnes of black carbon (aka soot) are released into the
stratosphere.

What happens when you go into space?

Hopping on a Ryanair flight, this is not. To go into space,
you’ll have to undergo training programmes and fitness tests. It’s
for this reason that many private space travellers object to the
term “space tourist”. “Space participant” is the official label
used by Nasa and the Russian Federal Space Agency, though monikers
such as “commercial astronaut” and “private space explorer” have
also been bandied about.

Semantics aside, there’s a little biology that needs to be
considered. Humans are fallibly human. While billionaire-funded
engineers may have dreamed up space cities, the way our bodies
respond is, at present, less desirable and less controllable. Side
effects can include slacked muscles, blood pooling around your
body, flattened eyeballs and a loss of taste.

Overcome these and you’ll enjoy (or hate, who knows) the
experience of take-off and landing, travelling faster than the
speed of sound and undergoing 3Gs of g-force pressure. If the ISS
is your destination, you’ll see 16 sunsets and sunrises each day,
spot bolts of lightning and clusters of city lights from above and
somersault like you’re Chris Hadfield. No spacewalks have yet been
taken by tourists, though it has been promised by operator Space Adventures. One
small step for you, one giant leap for travellers…

So you’ve made it out of the atmosphere. Where do you
stay?

Needless to say, Airbnb hasn’t launched in space just yet.
Accommodation options are limited.

In June 2019, after previously banning commercial use, Nasa announced that it will open the ISS to
tourists and other business ventures for $35,000 (about £28,000)
per night, for up to 30 days at a time – remember this doesn’t
include the “taxi fare” for your flight in and out of orbit. The
decision is part of a move towards the privatisation of the ISS;
President Trump’s 2018 budget called for the ISS to be defunded by
the government in 2025. Don’t expect cushy rooms; occupants simply
clip sleeping bags to the wall to stop them sleep-floating.

In 2018, US-based Orion Span announced plans to welcome guests to a
luxury space hotel by 2022. For $9.5 million (£7.5 million) each,
visitors (a maximum of six at any one time) will float in
unexplored universe for 12 days aboard the pill-shaped Aurora Space
Station, downing non-space food, tending to hydroponic plants and
playing in a “hologram deck” before bedding down in a relatively
roomy cabin of 13m x 4m.

Orbital Assembley Corporation has entered the space-stay race.
They plan to launch the 400-room Voyager Class space station in
2027.

How do I book my ticket out of here?

The Virginia-based Space Adventures is, to date, the only operator
(as opposed to carrier) that has successfully sent passengers into
space. Now in partnership with SpaceX, it invites “adventurers” to
circumnavigate the moon, board the ISS and be the first private
citizen to walk in space.

You can also pay $1,000 (£800) to register
with Virgin Galactic and its “astronaut office” Giant Leap to
be at the front of the line for new seats when they become
available, or earn your astronaut wings on Blue Origin’s New Shepard.

Until take off…

Allay cabin fever with this HD Earth Viewing Experiment, live-streamed from the
ISS. While it’s prone to drop offline, you should keep your eye out
for sunrise and sunset – one of the two happens every 45 minutes.
Alternatively, have a whirl on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon docking
simulator.