Exploring outer space has always been a human fantasy; humans have dreamed of orbiting the Earth and exploring the secrets of outer space since ancient times. Indeed, governments spend a lot of money on research and missions to outer space to unravel the secrets of our magnificent universe. Next year, traveling to space will not be for trained astronauts only; you can book your ticket now and discover space yourself.
For nearly a decade, many companies have promised citizens trips to the Moon and new homes on Mars, but these promises have never been fulfilled; yet, that is. Starting next year, according to NASA officials, private companies will be able to send citizens on lifetime trips as part of an initiative to help generate a sustainable economy in low-Earth orbit.
In the late 1990s, Space Adventures Ltd. was established and began working with private citizens interested in flying to space; XCOR Aerospace and Bigelow Aerospace were founded in 1999 for the same purpose. In the 2010s, Virgin Galactic, a commercial space travel company, succeeded in sending flights to space before facing a devastating loss in October 2014 when its VSS Enterprise broke up during a manned test flight.
On 13 December 2018, Virgin Galactic successfully tested its SpaceShipTwo, which was recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA Flight Opportunities Program as officially capable of reaching outer space by US standards. The two pilots, Mark Stucky and Frederick Sturckow, took the spaceplane to an altitude of 82.7 kilometers. The two pilots were awarded Astronaut Wings from the US Department of Transportation after the test from Mojave Air and Space Port CA.
During a press conference this year, NASA announced its strategy to open up the International Space Station (ISS) for commercial business as part of its drive to accelerate a thriving commercial economy in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). NASA hopes that the income from space tourism will help fund its broader science and space exploration goals, including the push to the Moon and Mars.
Next year, Virgin Galactic will offer flights into the lower edge of space from New Mexico; more than 700 people bought tickets, the cost of which ranges between USD 200,000 and 250,000. Six passengers will be on each flight experiencing several weightlessness minutes in addition to views of Planet Earth before the space plane lands back on Earth. The entire adventure will last for about 90 minutes.
SpaceX and Boeing—two private US companies—will also be sending astronauts to orbit. Both companies are contracted by NASA to take astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), and they are planning to fly their own astronauts as well. This step is a crucial step to make space more accessible and to open new doors for tourist flights. SpaceX has already begun talking about paid trips to the Moon as early as 2023.
Although most of the space tourism industry activities is placed in the United States, other countries are looking to tap into the market. Virgin Galactic has forged agreements with international partners in Italy and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to explore opportunities to fly from their spaceports and provide local access to the microgravity environment for their science, education, and technology sectors.
The Other side of Space Tourism
As good as this may sound, environmentalists think that the whole space tourism issue is unnecessary; they believe it will wreak havoc in the Earth’s atmosphere for the pleasure of a few. Experts assume that launching rockets can cause a long-term damage in the ozone layer; the chemicals burned by rockets work together in the upper atmosphere, eventually depleting up to 1% of the ozone that helps keep us safe from the Sun’s harmful radiation.
Rocket launches damage the atmosphere; when a rocket moves through the upper atmosphere, it burns kerosene-based fuel and deposits chemicals including chlorine into the air around it. Chlorine destroys the ozone molecules that protect the planet from harmful sunrays, contributing to global warming.
This is not the only damage caused to the ozone layer by rocket launches. Burning rocket fuel also creates black carbon, or soot, and aluminum oxide. The soot particles form a “black umbrella”, which absorbs sunlight and heats up the air around it; while the aluminum oxide particles reflect heat away like aluminum foil. Together, these two effects make the surface of the planet cooler.
Cooling the Earth’s surface at the expense of heating the upper atmosphere is not a good thing as it might sound. A warmer upper atmosphere means that the chemical reactions depleting the ozone layer happen even faster, exacerbating the problem caused by the chlorine. Basically, as the upper atmosphere gets warmer, the ozone protecting our planet is destroyed faster.
Current estimates show that rocket launches cause up to 0.1% in ozone loss, according to a report by Dr. Martin Ross, senior project engineer for commercial launch projects at The Aerospace Corporation, and his colleague Dr. James Veda. If launches go up by a factor of ten in the next few decades as governments and companies launch more satellites and tourists head up into the cosmos, we could wipe out 1% of the ozone layer. This threat to the ozone layer is specific to rockets, and could undo the precious progress we have made on repairing ozone depletion in the last 30 years.
Moreover, space tourists might encounter some health issues resulting from microgravity, interstellar radiation, and acceleration. Probably, short trips will not increase those risks, but we will not be sure of that until the first space planes launch. Microgravity seriously impacts metabolism, heat regulation, heart rhythm, muscle tone, bone density, eyesight, and the respiratory system.
As the rocket speeds away from Earth, passengers will be hit by forces of acceleration up to three times the force gravity they are accustomed to on the ground; this can put a strain on the heart as it struggles to pump blood to the head. If the passengers are not positioned correctly, the blood could drain from their brains into their feet and they might pass out. It will, thus, be important to check all of the space tourists to confirm their hearts are healthy enough for the trip.
Vomiting and nausea will probably start once the passengers start feeling weightless. Any participant going into space should be prepared for some motion sickness and being a little confused about where up is and where down is. Astronauts who have been to space a few times have an easier time adjusting; space tourists, however, will not know how their bodies will react. Passengers who will go to space will have a health check and will need to prepare for the flight and train a lot just to relieve the anxiety of experiencing something totally new when they will be in an extreme new environment.
Between the high cost, the health threats, and the environmental concerns, which are still to be proven, if you have ever been a fan of space and dreamed of traveling to it, you will soon have a tough decision to make; to follow your dreams or wait and see.
References
america.cgtn.com
www.cnet.com
www.digitaltrends.com
howstuffworks.com
interactive.satellitetoday.com
www.latimes.com
www.livescience.com
observer.com
www.wired.co.uk
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