“Seeing the world” takes on an entirely different dimension when that commonly cited motivation to travel means peering down at Earth from more than 60 miles above the planet’s surface.
An experience test pilots describe as “intense, wonderful and truly unforgettable,” the fledgling space tourism industry promises a God’s-eye view of the great beyond that until this decade existed only in satellite footage—or our wildest dreams. Half a century ago, it was common belief that space hotels would be taking reservations by 2000 and the average 21st-century family would holiday on the moon. In reality the new century has seen a small but growing trend of tourists, motivated by personal fulfillment and funded by personal means, paying for space flights. Space tourism promises a thrilling exclusive
experience, the sheer awe of looking at Earth from space and a few minutes to float weightless. Since the first liftoff of space exploration, less than 500 people in the world have transcended the planet’s atmosphere. To date just five paying passengers have punched tickets into space, spending up to $20 million for the privilege of boarding a mission facilitated by Space Adventures Ltd. Now with visionary innovations in space tourism and enough prospective civilian astronauts pledging the hefty fee required to zoom through the wild blue yonder, humanoids appear to be closing in on “The Final Frontier.”
TAKING RESERVATIONS About 10 companies in Russia, Europe and the United States claim to be developing commercial space-travel programs. Space Adventures, headquartered in Virginia, and
Britain’s Virgin Galactic are the two “spacelines” closest to achieving liftoff. Both sell suborbital spaceflight packages and are booked up through 2009, their targeted first year of service. Virgin’s extraterrestrial cruises will depart from spaceports in California
and New Mexico, while Space Adventures plans launch and educational facilities in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Proving once again that everything is relative, Virgin refers to its $200,000 ticket price as “affordable sub-orbital space tourism” with no trace of irony whatsoever. Space Adventures asks $102,000 for its shorter-duration suborbital flight, which includes a $4,000 cancellation insurance policy. It takes more than deep pockets to board a spaceflight. Prospective participants must meet basic health and fitness standards determined by medical checks, and then complete several days of bonding, preparations and intensive training with their would-be fellow passengers and crew. The training teaches passengers in flight operations, spacecraft systems and safety procedures. Spaceports will have simulators to get travelers ready to play in zero gravity and stay as comfortable and relaxed as possible when the force shifts to upward of a temporarily paralyzing three Gs. Successful completion of training will mean space tourists can expect safer flights as well as greatly enriched otherworldly experiences.
3...2...1...BLAST OFF! Assuming continued extensive testing ensures the crafts’ safety, the first commercial suborbital spaceflights are projected to launch next year. The cutting-edge test subjects resemble smaller, funkier versions of the NASA program’s space shuttles. Space Adventures plans to take flight with a blastoff from Earth, a smaller-scale version of a traditional rocket motor launch that will propel its C-21 Suborbital Vehicle. Virgin’s takeoff method differs, using a more environmentally friendly mid-air launch from a mothership flying at 50,000 feet to give its SpaceShipTwo craft a supersonic push. Both departures propel the spaceships more than 62 miles in altitude—the internationally defined boundary between Earth and space. Crossing the man-made border automatically turns air passengers into astronauts. At the moment of release, a surge of controlled power overcomes the craft. Passengers are instantly pinned to their seats as the rocket motor accelerates with a deafening howl. As the blue
sky darkens to indigo and then black the craft maxes out at almost 2,500 miles per hour, more than three times the speed of sound. Just as dramatically the pilot cuts the rocket motor, replacing screaming engines with intense silence. The profound quiet directs the senses to the most awe-inspiring view that most people will never see. Below is a vista captured in hundreds of inspiring and educational photographs. Reality vividly surpasses the highest-resolution images of planet Earth’s beauty and perspective. Unlike a classroom globe, man-made national and continental boundaries don’t exist on the perfectly curving blue surface. What remains is the entirety of our home, surrounded by a narrow aura of atmosphere that looks alarmingly fragile. Spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari attempted to describe her experience of gazing down at the Big Blue Marble. “Being able to see the Earth from the sky will give you a new perspective on the world, and how insignificant our planet is in the background of the cosmos,” Ansari is quoted in a Space Adventures video clip.
THE WEIGHT IS OVER A temporary and very expensive method for losing unwanted pounds, suborbital spaceflights will include up to six minutes of weightlessness. Just moments after gravitational force renders the brand-new astronauts immobile, they are freed from a natural law that has controlled every movement made since birth. What to do in this newfound emancipation? Swim through the air, summersault to push off the ceiling, laugh while learning to drink gulps of floating liquid and nibble mid-air M&M’s—and, of course, take pictures.
“It’s like floating like a feather in the air, effortless,” Ansari explained to Space Adventures. “You don’t need to apply any pressure. It’s a wonderful feeling, after you get over motion sickness, of course.” Reentry is an intense contrast to weightlessness. Travelers return to their reclined seats and again practice the training they received to deal with strong G-forces. Quickly the thickening atmosphere starts to slow the descending craft before it glides back to port. After deplaning space travelers take some time for rest and reflection before ending their mission with a postflight ceremony, where can begin to process the experience of a lifetime. Then it’s time to pin on a pair of much-deserved commemorative astronaut wings and return to a world that, after just a few short hours away, will never again look quite the same.
PLAN YOUR TRIP Would you like to swing on a star? Carry moonbeams home in a jar? Those forms of space play are looking entirely possible. Compared to space tourism’s future stargazing, today’s brand-new suborbital spaceflights start to seem more like a coach ticket for a quick visit. Spacelines are shooting for the moon, with sights set on offering first-class orbital cruises and lunar visits. Constellation Services International, based in California, is developing a project to send piloted spacecrafts of passengers to the moon and back by 2011. Plans include a weeklong stay at the International Space Station, as well as a weeklong trip around the moon. Space Adventures advertises spaceflights (including space walks) that orbit Earth every 17 minutes for $30 to $55 million, and have announced plans for circumlunar missions to the moon, with the price per passenger around $100 million. For more specifics on commercial space missions, launch your favorite Web browser and peer through the following cyberspace portals into space.
