Space Tourism

Space tourism: the final frontier?

By Kelly O'Mara | Yahoo! Travel – 16 hours ago

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The Spacex Falcon 9 lifts off from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday (Photo: Reuters)This week, SpaceX launched the first private spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station. SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft was hired by NASA to carry cargo to the station. But, the plan is to soon be carrying people into orbit.

“This mission heralds the dawn of a new era of space exploration, one in which there is a significant commercial space element,” said SpaceX CEO and PayPal co-founder Elon Musk in a press statement. “For us, it is like winning the Super Bowl.”

A number of companies are right behind SpaceX, preparing to send tourists out of the atmosphere or even to space hotels orbiting in the sky. Bigelow Aerospace of Nevada has designed an inflatable space station that would serve as a “hotel” for astronauts or tourists.

With at least eight major companies getting into the space business, the galaxy could soon get a little crowded. And that means, without regulations on space travel, it could get a little dangerous out there.
“Anyone can go into space,” said Alex Bronstein-Moffly of First Street Research Group, which has studied the commercial space industry. “Space is sort of one of these uncharted territories.”

The Federal Aviation Administration, Congress, NASA, and the Air Force regulate the spacecraft that take off from U.S. soil, but no one regulates space. Ultimately, space tourists could leave from less controlled or less well-run countries – in much the same way other industries operate offshore – creating a space jam of disorganized and poorly maintained shuttles.

Right now, the eight space launch pads in the U.S. are licensed in order to certify their safety and verify that crafts meet regular maintenance requirements and standards. Additionally, there are training requirements for crew members and medical qualifications that have to be met by all passengers.
“You can’t just build a launch pad in your backyard,” said Bronstein-Moffly.

But, once those rockets and spacecraft, at some point, leave the U.S. and carry tourists into space, there’s little oversight. The Air Force and NASA currently serve as space air traffic control, using telescopes and radar to ensure that satellites don’t hit each other. But they may not be able to do that for private spacecraft.

Too many satellites and too much junk littering space already poses a safety hazard. If too many private shuttles eventually join them, there will need to be a control system in place to stop accidents from occurring, said Bronstein-Moffly. But, we’re more than a few years away from that problem.
Richard Branson with the VMS Eve, a "mothership" designed to launch spacecraft with tourists aboard into space. …Virgin Galactic is widely considered the most likely to be the first to send customers into orbit from its terminal in southern New Mexico. Richard Branson, Virgin CEO, has predicted that will be within the year.
In March, Ashton Kutcher became the 500th person to register for a space trip with Virgin Galactic. Other celebrities have also signed up for their own astronaut trip with Virgin, including Stephen Hawking and former Dallas star Victoria Principal.

All that money to be made in space means that a lot of money is being spent right now to lobby Congress over maintenance regulations and medical clearance requirements. The First Street Research Group released a study last month on the lobbying and regulatory efforts involved in commercial space travel. SpaceX, according to the report, tops the space tourism spending list, doling out $2.9 million on lobbying efforts. SpaceX, in turn, has been awarded NASA contracts and seed funding to develop crafts like the Dragon.

SpaceX has been joined in its space tourism lobbying by the Orbital Space Corporation, Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corporation, XCOR Aerospace, and Virgin Galactic.

Lobbying efforts are focused on three things, said Bronstein-Moffly: writing regulatory laws, petitioning governing agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and winning government contracts and grants.

“Because all of this is so new, it’s still being hashed out,” he said.

These private companies have an incentive to make sure the new tourism frontier is safe enough to encourage high-paying customers. While off-brand, un-regulated space travel may end up a problem if the industry becomes over-crowded, there is an obvious deterrent to getting your space travel on the cheap.

“If you’re going into space, do you really want to take off from a spaceship that hasn’t been inspected?” he asked.