The idea of going into space has long ceased to be something fantastic. Since the middle of the 20th century, humans have been striving to escape the confines of our planet and explore unknown horizons. Since then, space travel has been developing rapidly in the scientific field, but in recent years, there have been more and more promises that regular “tourist” routes to orbit will soon appear. The price of such a trip is still sky-high, but there are more and more companies ready to reduce costs and make these trips more accessible to a wide range of people. So, when will space tourism go beyond a VIP offer? Let’s try to figure it out in this article.

First steps towards orbital travel

Officially, space tourism began in the early 2000s, when several wealthy businessmen from the United States and other countries paid tens of millions of dollars for the opportunity to visit the International Space Station (ISS). At that time, these people were fully trained under the supervision of specialists and went into orbit with professional astronauts on ships. Despite the high cost of the ticket, these first tourists laid the foundation for an entire industry, demonstrating that space travel can be organized not only for purely scientific purposes.

Today, we see private companies competing more and more actively in this area. First and foremost, we are talking about different flight formats: suborbital jumps, low Earth orbit, and even expeditions to the Moon. For many people, suborbital flights will be the first step: they are cheaper and involve only a few minutes outside the atmosphere, but at this time they already allow you to see the curvature of the Earth and feel the state of weightlessness.

Or is it only for the rich?

Until now, the cost of a space tour has been millions or even tens of millions of dollars, so it seemed like an entertainment exclusively for the ultra-rich. Eventually, technological advances may change the situation. The more sophisticated rockets and capsules become, the lower the launch costs. The reuse of the first stage of a rocket is a step pioneered by SpaceX.

When there is more supply on the market and manufacturers start to scale up production, the ticket price will immediately drop. We have seen a similar story with air travel: transatlantic flights were once unaffordable for most, and now it is a commonplace for many travelers. Of course, it is hard to expect that a space ticket will cost the same as a flight to another continent, but over the next 10-20 years, the cost may drop to a few hundred thousand dollars or less. It’s still a lot of money, but it’s not as fantastic as ten or twenty million.

Several leading companies already stand out in the space tourism market. “Virgin Galactic, founded by Richard Branson, relies on suborbital flights, offering short but spectacular flights on a special aircraft that takes the spacecraft to high altitudes. “Blue Origin, founded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has been successfully testing reusable rockets for short-term tours above the atmosphere. And SpaceX, headed by Elon Musk, is currently conducting manned launches to the ISS and plans to introduce commercial flights for tourists on the Crew Dragon ship.

In addition to these big names, there are other projects: companies from China, Europe, and Japan are developing their own suborbital flight programs. This competition is driving down the price of flights and, consequently, the emergence of a wider range of services: from a short “walk” to the opportunity to live on the space station for a couple of days.

How tourists are trained

Having money is not the only condition for flying. Tourists need to undergo an in-depth medical examination and a certain training course. For short suborbital tours, the requirements are somewhat lower, but you still need to learn how to respond to overload and weightlessness. Training centers provide programs that simulate flight in an artificially created low-gravity environment and test endurance during a centrifuge load.

First, beginners are offered a special “floating” chamber in which short episodes of weightlessness are created using the parabolic flight of the aircraft. Then they learn about the capsule’s design, emergency procedures, and the psychological aspects of being in a confined space.

If we are talking about an orbital flight lasting several days or more, the training program is much more complex and can take several months. Participants need not only to adapt to being in space, but also to learn basic procedures for handling the station, docking the ship, and what to do in case of depressurization. Experts from NASA, ESA, and other space agencies are responsible for this, as they have experience in training professional astronauts.

What can make a difference

Soon, private space stations or modules aimed primarily at tourists may appear in Earth orbit. A number of companies have already announced plans to build their own “space hotels” where you can stay for a few days or even weeks. Such stations will be equipped with special modules for recreation, Earth observation, and simple scientific experiments.

Another interesting direction is flying around the Moon, which is much more expensive but also attracts wealthy adventurers who want to set a record or just experience exceptional sensations. SpaceX has signed contracts with several tourists for similar missions that are likely to take place over the next decade. If such projects are successful, new companies will enter the market, and the price for the average traveler will gradually decrease.

Prospects

If space tourism remains in the realm of exotic and expensive travel, its impact on society will be minimal. However, if the industry is able to offer “mass” flights, albeit for tens of thousands of dollars rather than millions, it will open up something new. Over time, an infrastructure similar to airports may emerge, only for spaceports, where suborbital flights will be launched almost daily.

As a result, children will be able to attend educational tours, students will be able to conduct short scientific experiments, and ordinary tourists will be able to enjoy the view of the Earth from above. We should not forget about the potential positive impact on scientific research. If the number of launches increases and new platforms are opened in orbit, this will give participants from different fields of science a chance to carry out experiments that were previously inaccessible due to space constraints and high costs.

Looking to the future

Despite the skepticism, space tourism has already become a reality today, albeit for a narrow circle of the elite. Fierce competition between companies, a rapid decline in launch costs, and the emergence of new technologies mean that in 10-20 years, orbital travel will become more affordable for a much wider range of people. Of course, even in this case, the flight will not be comparable to the cost of a standard airline ticket, but the difference between “impossible” and “very expensive” is still significant.

It is important that these changes are pushing not only the space industry, but the entire world to rethink how we interact with space. Previously, orbit was a place exclusively for scientific expeditions or military satellites, but now ordinary citizens are striving to go there in search of new experiences and impressions. Time will tell how quickly humanity will be able to resolve these issues and open up endless horizons for future travelers. Space no longer seems so distant, and therefore, its conquest is only a matter of time.