space tourism for the masses

The New Space Age

Humanity is looking once again to the heavens, ushering in a significant period of space exploration.

The rockets get most of the attention. Big and powerful and full of fiery thrust, the Space Launch System rocket NASA wants to use to propel astronauts into moon orbit is a monster, taller than the Statue of Liberty. As is SpaceX’s Starship, which NASA plans to use to ferry the astronauts to the lunar surface and back.

But those rockets represent only one element of the grand ambitions possessed by the United States, international space agencies and the many private companies that have set their sights on space over the past two decades. There are efforts underway to make space tourism accessible for the masses. There are hopes of one day having the infrastructure and technology to form permanent colonies in deep space. And there is a plan to finally put a woman and person of color on the moon.

Space travel is booming, creating an energy around the exploration of our solar system that hasn’t been seen since the days of Apollo — and leading to no shortage of questions. Why does NASA want to go back to the moon? What toll does space travel take on the human body? And what are the consequences of the increasing amount of space debris littering the atmosphere?

The New Space Age will seek to answer those questions, and many more, with a comprehensive look at this significant moment in the history of human spaceflight.

The moon beckons once again, and this time NASA wants to stay

Why are we going back to the moon? To research, to practice and to build a gas station in space.

The many, many reasons space travel is bad for the human body

Humans evolved in conditions of plentiful gravity and relatively scant radiation. Space is the reverse — and it upends almost every system inside of us.

Space Dodgers! An interactive game about a real-world problem.

Can you navigate the debris field in orbit? It’s a worsening problem in real life.

A woman on the moon: How has one small step taken so long?

As columnist Monica Hesse writes, the question has had more to do with culture and sociology than it has science and technology.

How to prepare for space travel

Lunar relations: the u.s., china and a new brand of space race.

NASA is hopeful that a new international coalition will help propel its return to the moon.

Inside the rockets that NASA and SpaceX plan to take to the moon

In the way they are manufactured, financed and designed to work, NASA’s SLS and SpaceX’s Starship represent very different approaches.

This astronaut trains by flying fighter jets. We went along for the ride.

Jared Isaacman, who commissioned a private astronaut flight to orbit last year, has purchased three more trips from Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

The sci-fi works that helped inspire spaceflight

Why scientists and officials are taking ufos more seriously.

At a time when our knowledge of the universe is expanding, many scientists and government officials are paying more attention to the objects we haven’t been able to identify.

About this project

This section examines the significance of this current period of space exploration, including the boom of the private space industry, the ambitions of NASA and foreign space agencies, and the potential consequences for society.

Topper image provided by NASA, ESA, SCA, STSCI. Illustrations by Brian Monroe, Ibrahim Rayintakath, Elizabeth von Oehsen, Christina Chung, and Jose Berrio. Graphics by William Neff and Aaron Steckelberg with editing by Kate Rabinowitz and Manuel Canales. Video by Daron Taylor, Tom LeGro, Monica Rodman, Sarah Hashemi and James Cornsilk. Photography by Jonathan Newton.

Art direction, design, development and photo editing by Betty Chavarria. Editing by Jeff Dooley, Betty Chavarria, Wayne Lockwood and Elizabeth McGehee.

Marking a New Era of Human Voyages to Space

Space entrepreneurs race to build a sustainable ecosystem and a path for private citizens to experience zero-G.

May 23, 2022

The half-century push to carry humans and cargo to space, initially funded by governments and enabled by investments and ingenuity of space sector visionaries, is here at last. What are the returns for both space tourism and space stations under development? And how do we ensure the final frontier remains accessible to everyone, not just the ultra-wealthy?

Laura Forczyk, owner of space consulting firm Astralytical and author of “ Becoming Off-Worldly ,” which features interviews with former astronauts to better prepare future citizen astronauts, notes that two things happened since 2020 that have propelled the market forward – first, SpaceX gained the capability to launch people into space, and second, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin’s progress with suborbital spaceflight.

She cautioned that one gating factor remains: the high price tag of space travel.

“Spaceflight is expensive and human spaceflight is even more expensive. A very limited number of people can fly right now, but that will scale up in the future.” She cites SpaceX’s Starship vehicle and the modular design of new commercial space stations as examples of how space travel will scale in the future. Starship is currently in development and designed to carry hundreds of passengers to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

No one can dispute that high-net-worth individuals are getting the first rides to space. Space billionaires Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, led the way, riding on their respective capsules in 2021. This past April, Axiom-1, the first all-private tourism mission, rocketed to the International Space Station (ISS) on a SpaceX Crew Dragon, carrying four passengers, three of whom paid $55 million apiece for their roundtrip ticket.

Harkening back to the earliest days of air travel, serial space entrepreneur Jason Andrews says it’s not surprising that the wealthy will be the first to experience space tourism, as that was the case as well when passenger air travel began in the 1920s.

“The 2020 decade will be the same as the 1920s, when air travel was for the rich. They traveled in first class luxury accommodations, and it wasn’t for the general masses. That’s what we’re going to see in the 2020s for space travel. It’s going to be for the rich. But that’s okay because if we can’t get the rich flown, we’ll never get to the masse,” he says.

Andrews and other experts agree that space travel will become the norm sooner than people realize, with space tourism serving as a way “to open the door commercially for this industry to thrive. I've always had this mindset that it was just a matter of when not if.”

Andrews is focused on bringing space tourism to reality. The former founder of Spaceflight Industries and BlackSky currently leads Orbite, established in 2019 to train private citizens for space travel from a physical, mental, and spiritual capacity.

“Our observation was you have all these people investing billions of dollars to build this amazing infrastructure, but no one's really focused on the passengers. How do you train and equip this next generation of space travelers? It's not only people that are going for pleasure, but it's also people going there for their profession,” Andrews says.

Andrews’ current venture, Orbite, offers astronaut training, from entry-level astronaut orientation that educates the public on the industry to help create “educated buyers,” to more advanced space experiences that help prepare travelers for suborbital and orbital space travel. Courses range from a few hours and a few hundred dollars to multiple weeks that can cost over $100,000.

“We're trying to build a pipeline of pre-screened, pre-qualified customers who are ready to go to space. That's what the industry needs,” he says.

He recalls in 1995 when NASA commissioned market studies on the commercial market opportunity for space, the agency identified three areas of greatest promise: a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) business park, nuclear waste disposal on the moon, and space tourism.

Twenty-seven years later, interest and investment in the space sector has accelerated to hyper speed. Rob Meyerson, founder and CEO of aerospace and technology management consulting firm Delalune Space, observes, “There's something in space tourism for all sorts of ranges or levels of affordability.”

Meyerson explains that people can begin to enjoy space tourism without leaving the ground by visiting a space museum or a NASA visitor center to attend a launch.

Space enthusiasts can also participate in high-performance airplane flights from companies like Zero-G Experience, where people can experience weightlessness on a specially modified Boeing 727 G-Force One aircraft that flies aerobatic maneuvers called parabolas. Coming soon are zero-pressure balloon rides from firms like Space Perspective and World View that allow tourists to hover 100,000 feet above the Earth’s surface before returning to Earth over a two-hour return voyage. The more costly adventures are suborbital trips from firms such as Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, followed by orbital flights from SpaceX and, eventually, trips to orbital destinations from Axiom Space.

Both World View and Space Perspective are taking reservations for balloon-operated spacecraft that will allow passengers to glide up to the stratosphere in luxurious cabins and enjoy the view before a slow return to the ground. World View plans to offer scenic landings in the wonders of the world – such as Amazonia, Brazil, the Giza Pyramids in Egypt and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. According to Phil Wocken, director of marketing, first commercial flights are scheduled to begin in early 2024 out of World View’s first spaceport near the Grand Canyon.

Space Perspective expects to begin commercial flights in late 2024. In April, the company unveiled a customizable Space Lounge interior with comfortable lounge chairs, mood lighting, Wi-Fi and a fully stocked bar. The company stated it offers the only carbon-neutral zero-emission way to visit the edge of space via a unique SpaceBalloon connected to the capsule.

“Our offer is about advancing a better appreciation of planet Earth and the interconnectedness of the human race,” states Space Perspective founder and CEO Jane Poynter, who said the 360-degree panoramic windows will be the largest-ever flown to space, providing a view 450 miles in any direction.

Space Perspective is putting emphasis on hospitality and user experience, bringing on experience curator David Grutman, a leader in the hospitality field, known for creating immersive experiences for restaurants, hotels, and nightclubs. Poynter says the views “will be even more magical when layered with David’s flair for hospitality and entertainment.”

Reusability & Reaching the Masses: Starship

Experts agree that reusable spacecraft – rockets capable of repeated orbit and landing — are key to making space an option for the masses. SpaceX’s orbital launch systems are being developed for reuse, including the boosters on the Falcon 9, which are regularly landed for repeat launches. SpaceX’s huge Starship rocket, designed for eventual trips to the moon and Mars, is a fully reusable spacecraft built to carry more than 100 metric tons of cargo and crew per launch. SpaceX founder Elon Musk has described Spaceship as key to efficient, large-scale orbital space travel.

For space entrepreneurs like Orbite founder Andrews, Musk’s vision for Spaceship signaled the feasibility of a large-scale space travel market. The market is developing quicker than those in the industry expected, he says.

“I don't think people fully appreciate how revolutionary Starship is,” notes Andrews, explaining that once he and co-founder Nicolas Gaume, fully understood SpaceX’s vision behind Starship, they felt propelled to launch their professional astronaut training program.

“That's when we said, ‘We have to found this company and go as fast as possible,’” he recalls.

Orbite is currently building an astronaut training facility that will leverage everything NASA has pioneered over 60 years but adapting it to a clientele who aren’t professional astronauts. The company emphasizes physical as well as mental and spiritual preparation.

“You can just talk to anyone who's been on Blue recently, especially William Shatner, it is overwhelming. The Overview Effect [the shift in awareness that results from viewing Earth from orbit or the moon] is real,” he says.

Another entrepreneur, Jared Isaacman, founder of payment processing company Shift4, made history this past September piloting the first private spaceflight to orbit the Earth comprised of all nonprofessional astronauts. The mission, called Inspiration4, raised $240 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“We were immensely fortunate to have the opportunity to train at SpaceX and ultimately undertake a successful mission to orbit and back,” Isaacman says. “Hopefully, we showed that space doesn’t need to remain the exclusive domain of governments, but that we can open the door for a better future while also working to address some of the real hardships of the day.”

He agrees that the key to opening spaceflight to the masses is reusability.

“[Reusable spacecraft] drive down costs to ultimately make space more accessible for people, for science and research and more,” states Isaacman.

The billionaire credits the two decades of hard work by SpaceX to build a highly reusable spacecraft system with the significant momentum the world is seeing for space travel. He is now preparing for the first of three missions under a new partnership with SpaceX called the Polaris Program, established to demonstrate new technology that will culminate with the first crewed launch of Starship. Polaris Dawn’s first launch is slated for no earlier than November 2022 and will include the first Crew Dragon spacewalk.

“Starship can be the 737 for human spaceflight and truly make humankind a spacefaring civilization,” says Isaacman, who hopes “to further humanity to become interplanetary.”

He applauds the progress Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic has made in the last year with suborbital flights but observed that both companies still need to scale if they hope to achieve an affordable price point that would be accessible to the public.

Space Travel Demand Outstrips Supply

During the space tourism and space station panel at SATELLITE 2022 in March, the two suborbital competitors reported strong bookings: An auction for an open seat on Blue Origin’s first passenger spaceflight last July drew a winning bid of $28 million. The company has since completed four missions, including one carrying Star Trek’s original Captain Kirk, actor William Shatner. Blue Origin’s flight time is 11 minutes, while Virgin Galactic’s spaceship’s flight duration is approximately 90 minutes, but passengers on both vehicles spend less than 5 minutes in space.

“The industry can’t keep up with demand right now,” said panelist Ariane Cornell, vice president of Commercial & International Sales for Blue Origin. She says Blue Origin has generated $100 million in sales with a strong pipeline of interested and confirmed reservations for future flights.

As of April 25, 750 people have made spaceflight reservations for Virgin Galactic’s piloted flights, in which a spaceplane is launched mid-air from a carrier plane.

Panelist Sirisha Bandla, vice president of Government Affairs for Virgin Galactic, who became the second woman born in India to fly to space on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo in July 2021, emphasized that missions that include science missions and commercial activities in space will help lower the barrier to entry for space access by “allowing a wider swath of users in the market to access space at a much lower cost.”

“We're seeing a lot of the consumers that want to use suborbital to test technologies and do R&D for orbital missions that are much longer duration. We're seeing that pipeline starting to form,” she said. “Those people I truly believe are not going to be one-time users; they are going to fly other vehicles.”

In a follow-up interview with Via Satellite , Cornell explains that Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket is fully automated, and the company is working to make flights more routine. “Every penny New Shepard makes goes back into the program to lower the cost and increase the cadence of flights.”

Cornell notes that while New Shepard was designed to open the suborbital space tourism and research markets, it was also built for another purpose—“to learn how to make human spaceflight routine, safe and low cost, so we can use the effectively limitless resources of space for the benefit of Earth.”

She adds that the experience Blue Origin is gaining on New Shepard gives the team confidence they will be successful with the New Glenn, Blue Origin’s two-stage orbital reusable launch vehicle.

“By having a suborbital vehicle built to fly people from the beginning, you can gain experience with many of the techniques and technologies needed for orbital human flight, but at a far lower cost, at a faster flight rate, and in a larger market,” she says.

The timing of New Glenn’s launch won’t occur before 2023, Jarrett Jones, senior vice president of the New Glenn program, stated during SATELLITE 2022.

Expanding Access and Accessibility

Many entrepreneurs want to ensure that space is accessible to everyone, with efforts ranging from a new global reality-TV program to initiatives to champion disability inclusion in space and contests to inspire more girls to pursue space careers.

Space Hero will be launching a biennial competition series where the winning contestant will receive a 10-day trip to the ISS valued at $55 million, the largest prize ever awarded on a reality TV show. The only qualification to enter? Applicants must be at least 18 and speak English ― “the language of space,” says Space Hero Co-founder Deborah Sass. “The barrier to entry is very, very low. It has to be because if you're going to be a multiplanetary species, everybody has to be able to go.”

“As spaceflight becomes the norm and financially and situationally accessible, it's going to have to be accessible to everyone,” agrees Eric Ingram, founder and CEO of Scout, Inc.

Ingram was one of 12 disability ambassadors for AstroAccess , an organization dedicated to disability inclusion in space exploration. Along with collaborator Zero Gravity Corporation, AstroAccess kicked off a campaign that hopes to inspire a space era that includes disabled astronauts.

Ingram and the other ambassadors took a zero-gravity flight this past October to understand how spacesuits and space vessels can be more user-friendly and accessible to people with mobility, hearing, and vision disabilities.

“I’ve used a wheelchair my entire life and this was a completely novel, transformative experience,” recalls Ingram, who also points to a financial reason for the space industry to focus on accessibility issues. “Some 15 percent of the world's population has some form of a disability. If they don't feel welcome, or able to experience whatever product you're providing, that's 15 percent of the possible market share you're automatically missing out on,” he says.

The Space Prize Foundation, started by the founders of Space VIP, an elite travel agency, is another group looking to expand access to space to middle and high school girls who remain under-represented in the space industry. According to the United Nations, only one in five space industry workers are women . Of the 566 people who have been to space, only 11.5 percent have been female, while women collectively account for about 20 percent of the space industry.

“That leaves a lot of kids feeling like it's not for them or they're not a part of it or it's going to be hard for them. We're trying to improve those statistics,” notes Mark Wagner, the foundation’s president.

After a successful New York City school pilot, the foundation will launch a Global Space Prize Challenge this June open to 15- to 18-year-old women worldwide. Thirty finalists will all work with mentors and experience a Zero G flight and two grand prize winners will fly on an upcoming Space Perspective launch.

Predicting the Future

So, what will space tourism traffic look like by 2030 and beyond?

“In 10 years, there's going to be one or more private space stations in Low-Earth Orbit. We're already going to have more competitive sources for the launch of people and cargo,” predicts Meyerson, who foresees multiple research and manufacturing platforms. He also points to the Artemis program spurring more exploration of the Moon, “further enabled by competing landers and transportation services.”

Space Perspective’s Poynter says, “Within the next 10 years we will see routine spaceflight operations and thousands of people visiting space. In the same way that people in the early days of air travel and computers could not imagine how they would soon affect all our lives, so, too, we cannot yet imagine the immense impact space travel will have on society in the coming years.”

Andrews says it wouldn’t surprise him if Musk’s Spaceship makes it to Mars by 2030, but not necessarily crewed by humans, but “definitely” by 2040.

Isaacman doesn’t think space tourism should extend to orbital missions given the inherent risks and training required for those longer duration trips but he expressed confidence that the economics will fall into place to create a vibrant space economy.

“As costs continue to come down and there are more paths to orbit, more and more people will journey to orbit and try and accomplish important things. I believe people will be working in space as opposed to just visiting it,” he concludes. VS

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The Future of Space Tourism Is Now. Well, Not Quite.

From zero-pressure balloon trips to astronaut boot camps, reservations for getting off the planet — or pretending to — are skyrocketing. The prices, however, are still out of this world.

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By Debra Kamin

Ilida Alvarez has dreamed of traveling to space since she was a child. But Ms. Alvarez, a legal-mediation firm owner, is afraid of flying, and she isn’t a billionaire — two facts that she was sure, until just a few weeks ago, would keep her fantasy as out of reach as the stars. She was wrong.

Ms. Alvarez, 46, and her husband, Rafael Landestoy, recently booked a flight on a 10-person pressurized capsule that — attached to a massive helium-filled balloon — will gently float to 100,000 feet while passengers sip champagne and recline in ergonomic chairs. The reservation required a $500 deposit; the flight itself will cost $50,000 and last six to 12 hours.

“I feel like it was tailor-made for the chickens like me who don’t want to get on a rocket,” said Ms. Alvarez, whose flight, organized by a company called World View , is scheduled to depart from the Grand Canyon in 2024.

Less than a year after Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson kicked off a commercial space race by blasting into the upper atmosphere within weeks of each other last summer, the global space tourism market is skyrocketing, with dozens of companies now offering reservations for everything from zero-pressure balloon trips to astronaut boot camps and simulated zero-gravity flights. But don’t don your spacesuit just yet. While the financial services company UBS estimates the space travel market will be worth $3 billion by 2030, the Federal Aviation Administration has yet to approve most out-of-this-world trips, and construction has not started on the first space hotel. And while access and options — not to mention launchpads — are burgeoning, space tourism remains astronomically expensive for most.

First, what counts as space travel?

Sixty miles (about 100 kilometers) above our heads lies the Kármán line, the widely accepted aeronautical boundary of the earth’s atmosphere. It’s the boundary used by the Féderátion Aéronautique Internationale, which certifies and controls global astronautical records. But many organizations in the United States, including the F.A.A. and NASA, define everything above 50 miles to be space.

Much of the attention has been focused on a trio of billionaire-led rocket companies: Mr. Bezos’ Blue Origin , whose passengers have included William Shatner; Mr. Branson’s Virgin Galactic , where tickets for a suborbital spaceflight start at $450,000; and Elon Musk’s SpaceX , which in September launched an all-civilian spaceflight, with no trained astronauts on board. Mr. Branson’s inaugural Virgin Galactic flight in 2021 reached about 53 miles, while Blue Origin flies above the 62-mile mark. Both are eclipsed by SpaceX, whose rockets charge far deeper in to the cosmos, reaching more than 120 miles above Earth.

Balloons, like those operated by World View, don’t go nearly as high. But even at their maximum altitude of 18 or 19 miles, operators say they float high enough to show travelers the curvature of the planet, and give them a chance to experience the overview effect — an intense perspective shift that many astronauts say kicks in when you view Earth from above.

Now, how to get there …

Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, which are both licensed for passenger space travel by the F.A.A., are open for ticket sales. (Blue Origin remains mum on pricing.) Both companies currently have hundreds or even thousands of earthlings on their wait lists for a whirl to the edge of space. SpaceX charges tens of millions of dollars for its further-reaching flights and is building a new facility in Texas that is currently under F.A.A. review.

Craig Curran is a major space enthusiast — he’s held a reserved seat on a Virgin Galactic flight since 2011 — and the owner of Deprez Travel in Rochester, N.Y. The travel agency has a special space travel arm, Galactic Experiences by Deprez , through which Mr. Curran sells everything from rocket launch tickets to astronaut training.

Sales in the space tourism space, Mr. Curran acknowledges, “are reasonably difficult to make,” and mostly come from peer-to-peer networking. “You can imagine that people who spend $450,000 to go to space probably operate in circles that are not the same as yours and mine,” he said.

Some of Mr. Curran’s most popular offerings include flights where you can experience the same stomach-dropping feeling of zero gravity that astronauts feel in space, which he arranges for clients via chartered, specialized Boeing 727s that are flown in parabolic arcs to mimic being in space. Operators including Zero G also offer the service; the cost is around $8,200.

You can almost count the number of completed space tourist launches on one hand — Blue Origin has had four; SpaceX, two. Virgin Galactic, meanwhile, on Thursday announced the launch of its commercial passenger service, previously scheduled for late 2022, was delayed until early 2023. Many of those on waiting lists are biding their time before blastoff by signing up for training. Axiom Space, which contracts with SpaceX, currently offers NASA-partnered training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center. Virgin Galactic, which already offers a “customized Future Astronaut Readiness program” at its Spaceport America facility in New Mexico, is also partnering with NASA to build a training program for private astronauts.

Would-be space tourists should not expect the rigor that NASA astronauts face. Training for Virgin Galactic’s three-hour trips is included in the cost of a ticket and lasts a handful of days; it includes pilot briefings and being “fitted for your bespoke Under Armour spacesuit and boots,” according to its website.

Not ready for a rocket? Balloon rides offer a less hair-raising celestial experience.

“We go to space at 12 miles an hour, which means that it’s very smooth and very gentle. You’re not rocketing away from earth,” said Jane Poynter, a co-founder and co-chief executive of Space Perspective , which is readying its own touristic balloon spaceship, Spaceship Neptune. If all goes according to plan, voyages are scheduled to begin departing from Florida in 2024, at a cost of $125,000 per person. That’s a fraction of the price tag for Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, but still more than double the average annual salary of an American worker.

Neither Space Perspective nor World View has the required approval yet from the F.A.A. to operate flights.

Unique implications

Whether a capsule or a rocket is your transport, the travel insurance company battleface launched a civilian space insurance plan in late 2021, a direct response, said chief executive Sasha Gainullin, to an increase in space tourism interest and infrastructure. Benefits include accidental death and permanent disablement in space and are valid for spaceflights on operators like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, as well as on stratospheric balloon rides. They’ve had many inquiries, Mr. Gainullin said, but no purchases just yet.

“Right now it’s such high-net-worth individuals who are traveling to space, so they probably don’t need insurance,” he said. “But for quote-unquote regular travelers, I think we’ll see some takeups soon.”

And as the industry grows, so perhaps will space travel’s impact on the environment. Not only do rocket launches have immense carbon footprints, even some stratospheric balloon flights have potentially significant implications: World View’s balloons are powered by thousands of cubic meters of helium, which is a limited resource . But Ted Parson, a professor of environmental law at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that space travel’s environmental impact is still dwarfed by civil aviation. And because space travel is ultra-niche, he believes it’s likely to stay that way.

“Despite extensive projections, space tourism is likely to remain a tiny fraction of commercial space exploration,” he said. “It reminds me of tourism on Mt. Everest. It’s the indulgence of very rich people seeking a transcendent, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and the local environmental burden is intense.”

Stay a while?

In the future, space enthusiasts insist, travelers won’t be traveling to space just for the ride. They’ll want to stay a while. Orbital Assembly Corporation, a manufacturing company whose goal is to colonize space, is currently building the world’s first space hotels — two ring-shaped properties that will orbit Earth, called Pioneer Station and Voyager Station. The company, quite optimistically, projects an opening date of 2025 for Pioneer Station, with a capacity of 28 guests. The design for the larger Voyager Station , which they say will open in 2027, promises villas and suites, as well as a gym, restaurant and bar. Both provide the ultimate luxury: simulated gravity. Axiom Space , a space infrastructure company, is currently building the world’s first private space station; plans include Philippe Starck-designed accommodations for travelers to spend the night.

Joshua Bush, chief executive of travel agency Avenue Two Travel , has sold a handful of seats on upcoming Virgin Galactic flights to customers. The market for space travel (and the sky-high prices that come with it), he believes, will evolve much like civilian air travel did.

“In the beginning of the 20th century, only very affluent people could afford to fly,” he said. “Just as we have Spirit and Southwest Airlines today, there will be some sort of equivalent of that in space travel, too. Hopefully within my lifetime.”

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Space is all yours—for a hefty price

Commercial spaceflight is now officially a thing. But is it a transcendent opportunity for the masses, or just another way for rich people to show off?

• Adam Mann archive page

Private citizens have been buying their way into the heavens for decades. In the 1980s, McDonnell Douglas engineer Charles Walker became the first nongovernment individual to fly in space when his company bought him a seat on three NASA space shuttle missions. In 2001, American entrepreneur Dennis Tito dished out a reported $20 million to fly on a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) and spend eight days floating in microgravity. 

But beyond those few flights, nothing much happened.

At least not until last year. After decades of development and several serious accidents, three companies—SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic—launched their first tourist flights in 2021. William Shatner rode a Blue Origin vehicle to the edge of space in October. Former NFL star and Good Morning America host Michael Strahan took a similar ride in December. Even NASA, which was once hostile to space tourism, has come around and released a pricing policy for private astronaut missions, offering to bring someone to orbit for around $55 million.

Okay, so it’s a new era—but what does it mean? Do these forays represent a future in which even the average person might book a celestial flight and bask in the splendor of Earth from above? Or is this just another way for the ultrawealthy to flash their cash while simultaneously ignoring and exacerbating our existential problems down on the ground? Nearly all those 2021 escapades were the result of efforts by three billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson. Branson is a mere single-digit billionaire, whereas Bezos and Musk have wealth measured in the hundreds of billions. 

“The greatly undue influence of wealth in this country—to me that’s at the heart of my issues with space tourism as it’s unfolding,” says Linda Billings, a communications researcher who consults for NASA and has written about the societal impacts of spaceflight for more than 30 years. “We are so far away from making this available to your so-called average person.”

Each spot on Virgin’s suborbital spaceplane, the cheapest way to space at the moment, will set somebody back $450,000. A single seat on Blue Origin’s initial suborbital launch sold at auction for $28 million, and the undisclosed price tag of SpaceX’s all-civilian Inspiration4 mission, which spent three days in orbit before splashing down off the coast of Florida, has been estimated at $50 million per passenger. 

Not only are such flights ridiculously far out of financial reach for the average person, says Billings, but they aren’t achieving any real goals—far from ideal given our terrestrial problems of inequality, environmental collapse, and a global pandemic. “We’re not really learning anything,” she says. “There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of thought or conscience in the people engaging in these space tourism missions.”

Laura Forczyk, owner of the space consulting firm Astralytical, thinks it’s misguided to focus strictly on the money aspect. “The narrative [last year] was billionaires in space, but it’s so much more than that,” says Forczyk, who wrote the book Becoming Off-Worldly , published in January, in which she interviewed both government and private astronauts about why they go to space.

Forczyk sees the flights as great opportunities to conduct scientific experiments. All three of the commercial tourist companies have carried research projects in the past, studying things like fluid dynamics, plant genetics, and the human body’s reaction to microgravity. And yes, the rich are the target audience, but the passengers on SpaceX’s Inspiration4 included artist and scientist Sian Proctor and data engineer Chris Sembroski, who won their tickets through contests, as well as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital ambassador Hayley Arceneaux (the trip helped her raise $200 million in donations for the hospital). Blue Origin gave free trips to aviation pioneer Wally Funk, who as a woman had been barred from becoming an Apollo astronaut, and NASA astronaut Alan Shepard’s daughter Laura.

Forczyk also cites Iranian space tourist Anousheh Ansari, who flew to the ISS in 2006. “She talked about how she grew up in a war zone in Iran, and how [the flight] helped her see the world as interconnected,” Forczyk says. 

Billings thinks the value of such testimonials is pretty low. “All these people are talking to the press about how wonderful the experience was,” she says. “But to listen to someone else tell you about how exciting it was to climb Mt. Everest doesn’t convey the actual experience.”

As with an Everest trek, there’s the risk of death to consider. Historically, spaceflight has had a fatality rate of just under 4%—roughly 266,000 times greater than for commercial airplanes. Virgin suffered two major disasters during testing, killing a total of four employees and injuring four more. “A high-profile accident will come; it’s inevitable,” says Forczyk. But even that, she predicts, won’t end space tourism. People continue to climb Everest, she notes, despite the danger.

Another question is how space tourism might affect the planet. A 90-minute jaunt on Virgin Galactic’s suborbital spaceplane is roughly as polluting as a 10-hour transatlantic flight. Other calculations suggest that a rocket launch can produce 50 to 75 tons of carbon dioxide per passenger, compared with just a few tons per passenger from a commercial airplane.

Experts warn that even Blue Origin’s New Shepard, which burns hydrogen and oxygen and emits water, could affect the climate since its combustion products are injected high into the stratosphere, where their ultimate impact has yet to be understood. 

The Federal Aviation Administration oversees all spaceflight in the US and might strengthen safety and environmental regulations. The agency currently has a moratorium on new regulations until 2023, which was designed to give the nascent industry time to develop before legislators came in with too much red tape. But few lawmakers or citizens are clamoring for more regulation. 

“There are a lot of other things for people to worry about than whether or not only billionaires get to fly in space,” says Marcia Smith, the founder and editor of the news website SpacePolicyOnline.com, which covers space programs around the world.

Nobody has yet fully articulated a compelling reason to spend enormous sums on private spaceflight. It may have incidental value for science and engineering, or offer a small number of people a sense of transcendence. 

But at the moment, it seems we do it mainly because we think it’s cool.

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Space tourism: for the masses or just the super-rich?

Space tourism is all the rage among the billionaire set, but is this something that mere mortals can aspire to? Tara Craig talks to commercial spaceflight expert Dr Maharaj Vijay Reddy

July 2021 was quite a month for commercial space flight. First, we had entrepreneur Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity reaching space on July 11 for the spacecraft’s 22nd test flight, but its first with a full crew onboard. Just over a week later, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos blasted off on the Blue Origin-owned spacecraft New Shepard. He and his brother Mark were accompanied by Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk, the youngest and oldest people, respectively, to visit space. There have also been rumblings for some time that Space X founder Elon Musk is planning to head for the stars soon.

While this may make space travel sound like something of a billionaires’ playground, the rank and file are queueing up for the space experience too. Despite a hefty price tag of US$250,000 per flight, Virgin Galactic already has a 600-strong list of potential space tourists.

At a quarter-of-a-million dollars, a trip to space is out of the reach of most people. So is large-scale commercial space travel for the masses really feasible or is it destined to remain the sole preserve of the world’s elite?

The long term view from space Dr Maharaj Vijay Reddy is a leading researcher into space tourism and is based at Coventry University’s Research Centre for Business in Society (CBiS). He has spent the last 12 years looking into the realities of commercial space travel and believes that, in the long term, it will eventually become accessible to more than just the super-rich.

According to Reddy, space tourism should be looked at within the context of the product life cycle theory. In this, newly introduced products go through several phases, he explains. First, there’s the introduction or pioneering phase, followed by the growth phase. Next is the rapid or massive growth phase, followed by saturation and, ultimately, decline. At each stage, availability increases and prices fall.

Space tourism is currently still in the pioneering phase, although seemingly not for long. As Reddy has predicted: “We'll see a slight growth in the next three to five years and then we'll see rapid growth, when we observe countries such as China, India and the UAE entering into the race. The cost per passenger could then come down to US$50,000.”

He also believes that, in product lifecycle terms, space tourism in the long term will reach maturity and rejuvenation but without seeing a subsequent decline, mentioning the summer 2021 opening in London of Rocket Breaks, the world’s first space tourism agency, as evidence of growing interest in the sector. According to Reddy, saving for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to space will be the 21st-century version of a flight on Concorde, with people being prepared to save for several years to cover the cost.

But is large-scale space tourism commercially viable? Reddy is convinced that it is, particularly with the involvement of the public private partnership or PPP. Pointing out that NASA’s spending has been drastically reduced and that governments have other financial priorities, he believes that the future of space tourism requires the contribution of the likes of Bezos, Branson and Musk. 

More than a short hop Fully-fledged space tourism will constitute more than the short flights currently being undertaken by Branson and Bezos. There has been talk of ‘space hotels’ in orbit around the Earth for some time and Reddy expects them to resemble the International Space Station.

Reddy references fellow space tourism expert Dr Patrick Collins, a professor emeritus at Azabu University in Japan. Collins once described how he expected the space tourism industry to look in 2000, had it begun in 1950. He predicted ten polar orbital hotels, 60 co-orbital hotels and even 20 equatorial orbit sports centres. Collins also expected to see daily scheduled lunar flights, a lunar water export business and an orbital population of 70,000. Considering the practicalities involved, it is hard to see any of these happening any time soon, but in future decades, travel to space could be much more common.

Fit for space? Astronauts are famous for the rigorous training they undertake prior to missions. According to Reddy, space travel companies are suggesting a training period of up to two weeks. This is clearly somewhat shorter than the time ‘real’ astronauts spend preparing themselves. Reddy and his team’s earlier research among potential space tourists in the UK and India found them willing to spend anything up to two months on training, although some did stress that they would prefer to train part-time, to accommodate other commitments.

However, Reddy noted: “People of about 40 or 50 years old are more likely to be able to afford to travel to space but, in parallel, they'll also have medical complications, such as high blood pressure or diabetes.”

The research also found that while would-be space tourists were alert to the safety risks involved, they had given little thought to the health implications. Reddy believes “There needs to be more research, obviously, to understand the training and the fitness requirements, not just from a physical fitness point of view, but also psychological.”

Environmental implications These days, no new endeavour can be embarked upon without taking the environment into consideration, not least space tourism, which Dr Stuart Parkinson, executive director of Scientists for Global Responsibility, recently described as “environmental vandalism for the super-rich.”

Reddy acknowledges that concerns have been raised and that some of these are being addressed by development of new materials and alternative fuels: “Several stakeholders have said that they're going to manufacture their spacecraft using carbon composite materials, making them not only stronger but lighter. Also, instead of using carbon- or nitrogen-based fuel, which traditional airlines have been criticised for, I think they're going to use more methane and oxygen, which will reduce the carbon footprint of the space sector.”

Of course, environmental issues extend beyond the spacecraft. Space debris is a particular concern, the inevitable result of more traffic in space. NASA and space tourism companies are already looking into this, according to Reddy: “This industry could reduce the need to launch satellites. Instead of sending satellites to monitor weather patterns or deforestation, for example, it could be done from spacecraft used in commercial space travel.”

A threat to air travel? As far as Reddy is concerned, one particular type of commercial space travel could revolutionise aviation. Point-to-point involves travelling between two places on Earth at very high speeds at much higher altitudes than commercial aircraft, potentially shaving hours off long-haul flights. At present, the 7000-mile journey from Washington DC to Dubai takes 13 hours and 10 minutes. Suborbital travel could cut this to just 90 minutes. While this may seem far-fetched, as long ago as 2017 Richard Branson was talking about launching an under-one-hour suborbital flight between the two cities.

Reddy added: “Suborbital travel advocates at the International Space University say that, within 90 minutes or an hour, we can reach any part of the world. We can travel from, for example, New York to London, attend a business meeting and travel back on the same day.”

He believes that there will be a market for point-to-point travel, saying: “If you take, for example, a New York to Tokyo first class flight, a return could easily cost US$10,000. And if we are looking at commercial space travel in 20 years’ time, when we see the costs coming down to US$50,000, the difference is only that much. If people can afford first class flights, why not travel point-to-point?”

In 2020, Virgin Galactic announced that it would be working with NASA to develop a high-speed vehicle for point-to-point travel, so that New York to Tokyo day trip may be closer than we think.

When Reddy was asked whether he will be signing up for a trip to space, he was hesitant: “As a researcher, I've been focusing on commercial space travel for some time, but I do feel that there are enough places to see on our planet. I might go if the price was reduced to £50,000, just to see the sunset and sunrise, but not immediately. It's not a question of affordability – I think there are many questions to be answered first.”

• Space Tourism
• Virgin Galactic
• Space Travel

Originally published in AIR International Website

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Space travel for the masses? Don’t be ridiculous

Space ‘tourism’ as performed by a pair of billionaires is, for now, merely an overpriced joyride for the ultra-rich.

Earlier this month, the British billionaire entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson, successfully flew to outer space, trailblazing his brand, Virgin Galactic , to the edge of the outer hemisphere. This week, his fellow billionaire, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, took his own Blue Origin spacecraft for a spin to the outer limits, managing to get a whole 10 miles (16km) higher than Sir Richard.

The journeys were heralded as marking a new era of “space tourism”, in which untrained people could become astronauts, a title previously reserved for highly trained professional scientists and pilots, to see the earth’s curvature and enjoy a few minutes of weightlessness. Perfect for that viral Instagram photo for one’s millions of followers.

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But could the idea of space tourism really become anything more than just an overpriced joyride for the rich?

The idea of travelling into space has fascinated human beings for millennia. Humanity has looked to the stars as a tool for navigation and as a source of spiritual fulfilment. Even now, research from the US think-tank, the Pew Research Center, suggests 29 percent of Americans believe in horoscopes.

In the 20th Century, as scientific discovery advanced, space travel became a symbol of political and ideological prestige, with the superpowers of that era, the US and the former Soviet Union, battling it out for space supremacy .

Both sides poured billions of dollars into a series of space programmes that created new rockets, satellites and most famously, led to humans touching the surface of the moon. It also spun a range of inventions that were commercialised for wider use, such as scratch-resistant lenses for glasses, memory foam and LASIK eye surgery.

These days, with the Cold War long over, political pressure to push forward state-funded space programmes has diminished, with governments even more reluctant to spend after the global financial crisis crippled government budgets in 2007. Thus, a gap has emerged for the private sector to step into.

For Branson, this month’s venture was the culmination of a long-held dream to embark on space tourism, having first promised to build a spaceship in 2004, with the hope of starting a commercial service by 2007. The programme faced years of delays due to, unsurprisingly, having to battle huge technical challenges, including a fatal crash during a development flight in 2014. The current pandemic has made it harder too, having forced Branson to sell $650m worth of Virgin Galactic shares over the past two years to shore up his wider Virgin business empire.

Yet despite delays, Virgin Galactic succeeded in its quest and has pushed space science forwards as a consequence. It developed a unique flight path, with a “mothership” carrying the main vehicle, VSS Unity, up 15km (9 miles) in the air before Unity was released and then activated its rockets to fly an additional 70km (43 miles) above the surface of the earth, to reach the edge of space. Unity then re-entered earth’s atmosphere with rotating wings – a technology known as feathering – to smoothly glide back down to earth without the need for a parachute. This meant no parts needed to be discarded, making it fully reusable, with the plane landing at the same location at Spaceport America in New Mexico, US, making it hassle-free for space tourists to get on and off, just like on a commercial flight.

Similarly, Bezos’s Blue Origin, which flew higher than its archrival Virgin Galactic, also utilises advanced science with a fully automated two-part rocket system, requiring no pilots at all. The launcher, which houses the rocket engine and propellant, separates after launch, flying back by itself to return to the launch pad, while the top part of the craft – the crew capsule – safely lands using parachutes. It is also equipped with a crew ejection system for added safety if any part of the launch goes wrong. Thankfully, there was no need for that on this occasion.

Both companies, after years of research and development and sustaining losses, are now finally poised to make money, with a reported 8,000 individuals already reserving tickets for Virgin Galactic flights, costing at least $250,000 each. Tickets to fly on Blue Origin are speculated to be priced at similar levels. Some 7,600 people with a lot of spare cash had registered for the auction of tickets for this week’s flight, with the winner paying $28m, suggesting there will be strong demand too, at least from the ultra-rich. Indeed, analysts at the investment bank, Bank of America estimate the total value of the space industry will balloon from $350bn to as much as $2.7tn by 2040.

However, before we get too excited, we must call this out for what it is. This is an entertainment business for the super-rich, backed by a formidable PR operation.

Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin are suborbital space vehicles. They do not yet fly high enough to orbit earth and are therefore in a wholly different category to – say, NASA or SpaceX – founded by another very successful billionaire entrepreneur, Elon Musk – which has become NASA’s preferred launch vehicle, able to resupply the International Space Station or deploy new satellites.

Virgin Galactic has confirmed as much, recently replacing its first CEO, the former NASA Chief of Staff George Whitesides, who led much of the research development phase of Virgin Galactic, with Michael Colglazier, who has no space background and was previously head of Disneyland parks.

The new space tourist companies are marketing these joy rides as “bringing space to the masses”. It is true that, before this, if you wanted to fly as a space tourist, you had to broker with the Russians to pay for a seat on the Soviet-era Soyuz class spacecraft for a cool $25m, as seven people did between 2001 and 2009.

But ticket prices for Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin flights will still be sky-high, which makes the claim absurd. There is no doubt that seeing the earth’s curvature could be a life-changing experience but who are we really inspiring here? Emerging scientists or the children of the billionaire set? Meanwhile, despite these new crafts being relatively energy-efficient compared with older space rockets, they still burn tonnes of fuel to go up and down through the atmosphere – hardly in the spirit of tackling climate change.

Perhaps it does not matter. After all, compared with state-funded programmes, private companies have the political cover of not – overtly – spending taxpayers’ money. Virgin Galactic has funding from the Virgin Group, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, Aabar Investment group and Boeing, alongside being publicly traded in the New York stock market. Blue Origin was funded by the sale of Amazon stock.

In contrast, the NASA Apollo programme, which launched humans to the moon in the late 60s and early 70s and the more recent Space Shuttle programme, which retired in 2011, cost US taxpayers an eye-watering $415bn in today’s money.

Private space companies are following market forces, competing against each other in a new market. The ego contest has also begun, with Bezos taunting Branson that his ship can fly higher.

This is good. Competition drives creativity, efficiencies and the development of new safety procedures, given that a launch failure would cause fatal loss of confidence for prospective customers. Having highly driven, charismatic entrepreneurs being the face of private space companies also gives it a sexiness that has galvanised the entire space sector.

However, this masks the reality that these companies have still benefitted from a sector that has been financed with taxpayers’ support. For example, the New Mexico government has invested nearly $200m in the Spaceport America facility, with Virgin Galactic as the anchor tenant. Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man who founded Amazon, runs a multinational technology firm that pays very little tax.

For example, in Europe, Amazon made record sales of 44 billion euros ($51.9bn) in 2020 but tax filings suggest it did not pay any corporation tax in Luxembourg, where it filed tax paperwork. And while Bezos generously thanked the workers of Amazon for helping to realise his dream of reaching space, warehouse workers on just $15 an hour might be wondering whether those profits – $8bn in net income this past quarter, a record – might be better reinvested elsewhere?

While it is a bit cringe-worthy that rich people can now call themselves “astronauts”, no doubt raising eyebrows among professionally trained, actual astronauts, we should not underestimate the science behind flying people safely under such hostile environments. Normalising space travel could provide opportunities. With Virgin Galactic aspiring to near-daily flights in the future, these suborbital journeys will provide a new platform for science, for example by providing a relatively accessible way to carry out testing in micro-gravity environments. Blue Origin is also developing larger rockets, dubbed New Glen, which aspires to compete with SpaceX on longer distance space flights and Blue Moon, to create lunar landers in partnership with NASA.

Cynics may despair at the waste of money, given there are so many other pressing issues to deal with down here on planet earth, such as human poverty. Yet perhaps space travel is a way of capturing the imagination and acting as a symbol of human advancement. Perhaps, as refinements continue and economies of scale further reduce costs, space flight might indeed become accessible to everyone, with space flights changing how people view our precious earth and provide a new way to advance science that leads to new inventions that benefit all of humanity. One can only wonder.

The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

The space tourism industry is stuck in its billionaire phase

The spectacle of launching billionaires into space is the beginning of a long road ahead.

By Joey Roulette

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Richard Branson’s extravagant jaunt to space on Sunday signaled the dawning of a new space age — for the few people that can afford it. Jeff Bezos is about to set off on a similar excursion next Tuesday when he launches to space with three others on his company Blue Origin’s first crewed flight. The two billionaires are validating their companies’ tourist-tailored rockets and, they say, fulfilling lifelong dreams to get a brief taste of space.

But what Virgin Galactic’s mission on Sunday proved, and what Bezos’ flight will similarly show, is that space is almost open, not for you and me or the general public, but for more billionaires.

Opening up the cosmos to the masses and normalizing space travel is a goal companies and their billionaire backers have been targeting for years but haven’t yet achieved. There’s economic potential beyond launching rich people to space: microgravity research for scientists and — a much farther goal — rapid transportation between continents. That’s the vision they’re selling with these flashy flights; once exclusive to government astronauts, traveling in space could be a thing for everyone else too.

“It’s tough at the beginning”

“That’s the dream, right? That space isn’t just for NASA anymore,” Kathy Lueders, NASA’s human spaceflight chief who oversaw development of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon astronaut capsule, said during a press conference in April. “I mean, I think that’s what we’re trying to do... what we were hoping is that you would hopefully have so many customers that at one point, the price-point would go down to having it be accessible. It’s tough at the beginning.”

In this beginning phase, flying to space is priced only for the ultra-rich, driven by the high costs of new space technology. Virgin Galactic’s launch of Richard Branson represented one of the final key test missions to validate its shiny six-seated spaceplane, SpaceShipTwo, but it was also a meticulously crafted marketing event, complete with flashy promo videos, inspirational speeches, and a pop concert, all designed to help attract more attention, and more customers.

To live their own version of Branson’s dream, customers will have to pay at least $250,000 for a seat (the company already has roughly 600 booked passengers). And right now, the quarter-million-dollar price tag is the cheapest option on the market. The price for a seat on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket could be higher. And if you want to go into orbit for a few days, a ride on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule will set you back at least $55 million (that could be higher too; SpaceX hasn’t publicly confirmed the real price).

A long road ahead to bringing prices down

While Branson and Bezos’ flights to space mark key moments for their space tourism businesses, the space industry is far from being able to offer its services to the rest of the public. To get there, they’ll have to clear several hurdles: Can these rockets reliably fly humans on multiple missions without a hitch? If there is a hitch, like a fatal accident, can the market survive a damaged reputation? And can someone buy a ticket to space just as they can book an expensive flight (instead of just the ultra-rich)?

Then there’s the court of public opinion, which may be difficult to win over. Bezos, Branson and Elon Musk’s space ambitions have been criticized as another example of billionaires spending money on passion projects when there are places and causes where those funds could arguably be put to better use. The US alone struggles with vast wealth inequities, poor access to healthcare and a rapidly changing climate, among other problems that, when paired with space tourism, makes the activity look insultingly selfish to many. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a leading critic of billionaires, has repeated that point as the private space race heats up. “Here on Earth, in the richest country on the planet, half our people live paycheck to paycheck, people are struggling to feed themselves, struggling to see a doctor — but hey, the richest guys in the world are off in outer space!,” he tweeted in March.

“I can understand it,” Branson says of critiques like Sen. Sanders’, speaking on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on July 14th. “But I think maybe they’re not fully educated as to what space does for Earth.” Branson, like other space advocates, point to the technologies that investments in space have helped propel into the mainstream, like the GPS capabilities wired into smartphones, weather tracking services or climate change research and modeling from satellites in low-Earth orbit. Many of those investments came from public funds — it’s still unclear what spin-off developments might emerge from the still-fledgling private space tourism industry.

“We have to deal with the fact that billionaires trying to make more money are the public face of the space sector right now”

As long as the space industry is dependent on billionaire funds for spacecraft built for billionaire (and millionaire) customers, the perception that this is a hobby for the ultrawealthy will inevitably remain. “We have to deal with the fact that billionaires trying to make more money are the public face of the space sector right now,” Brian Weeden, a director at the Secure World Foundation, said.

Putting faces on nascent industries isn’t unusual in itself. Charles Lindbergh, the first pilot to fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone, famously helped propel commercial aviation from its infancy in the 1920s and 1930s. Same with Steve Jobs or Bill Gates at the dawn of the desktop computer at the end of the 20th century.

Those industries, too, had doubters and critics. The US was skeptical of the early planes being built by the Wright brothers and top military officials dismissed aviation as a fad. “Any man who sticks to it is either crazy or else a plain damned fool,” said American Admiral William A. Moffett, who would later embrace aviation under the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics. And in 1943, when computers were massive room-sized objects, the chairman of IBM, Thomas Watson, scoffed at their potential: “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”

“A fairly large learning curve” from development to routine operations

Flights became commonplace. Computers became less expensive and more widely used. And at each phase of the computer’s evolution, people found new ways to use them as they became accessible to more markets and a wider swath of consumers, notes Carissa Christensen, CEO of BryceTech, a tech and space industry analytics firm.

“There’s going to be a fairly large learning curve as companies go from the process of developing a capability and testing it, to operating it routinely,” Christensen said. It’s possible that space tourism will follow the same path as computers or airplanes, but there’s no guarantee that it will succeed. In part, that’s because there’s no single solution to driving down the cost of launching people to space. Virgin Galactic earlier this year unveiled a new version of SpaceShipTwo that’s tailored for quick production rates, signaling it’s gearing up to accommodate its hefty customer backlog and reopen ticket sales, which have been closed since a fatal 2014 accident during a test flight. (Branson’s presence on Sunday’s flight also served as a visual reassurance to customers that the ship is safe.) Musk is focusing on better rocket fuel efficiency with SpaceX’s Starship, a fully reusable launch system being developed to slash the cost of sending humans to space.

But again, what exactly those next-generation prices will be remain a mystery. Musk hasn’t said how much it’ll cost prospective passengers to fly on Starship. And Virgin Galactic hasn’t said how much it plans to charge for tickets for its newer spaceplane, SpaceShipThree, just like Blue Origin, which hasn’t revealed its New Shepard prices.

Keeping space tourism dreams alive while the price comes down

Currently, you either have to be talented (hand-picked by a billionaire) or lucky to book a ride on one of these rockets without paying the steep price tag. Raffling off tickets, like Virgin Galactic plans to do , and donating seats to space enthusiasts who can’t afford them keeps the public dream of normalized, low-cost space travel alive while the industry races to find the right recipe for bringing prices down. “I think that in any competitive market you’re going to see products improve and/or prices drop,” Christensen added.

The competition has only just begun, and other companies are angling to get into space tourism. Texas-based Axiom Space has plans to build a private space station and arrange private rides on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsules. A new rocket under development by Rocket Lab, the California-based launch company that plans to go public, is designed to launch humans to space in the future. Boeing’s Starliner capsule is designed to ferry private astronauts to the space station, too.

At the moment, there’s no telling which one will make it — if any of them do. For now, space tourism is still in a phase controlled by billionaire cash. Whether or not the industry can grow out of the spectacle and into something more mature will depend less on Bezos or Branson fulfilling their childhood dreams of flying to space and more on bringing down the cost of building rockets — and the price we pay to fly on them.

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Space tourism – 20 years in the making – is finally ready for launch

Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, Air University

Disclosure statement

Wendy Whitman Cobb is affiliated with the US Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. Her views are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Defense or any of its affiliates.

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For most people, getting to the stars is nothing more than a dream. On April 28, 2001, Dennis Tito achieved that lifelong goal – but he wasn’t a typical astronaut. Tito, a wealthy businessman, paid US$20 million for a seat on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to be the first tourist to visit the International Space Station. Only seven people have followed suit in the 20 years since, but that number is poised to double in the next 12 months alone.

NASA has long been hesitant to play host to space tourists , so Russia – looking for sources of money post-Cold War in the 1990s and 2000s – has been the only option available for those looking for this kind of extreme adventure. However, it seems the rise of private space companies is going to make it easier for regular people to experience space.

From my perspective as a space policy analyst , I see the beginning of an era in which more people can experience space. With companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin hoping to build a future for humanity in space, space tourism is a way to demonstrate both the safety and reliability of space travel to the general public.

The development of space tourism

Flights to space like Dennis Tito’s are expensive for a reason. A rocket must burn a lot of costly fuel to travel high and fast enough to enter Earth’s orbit.

Another cheaper possibility is a suborbital launch, with the rocket going high enough to reach the edge of space and coming right back down. While passengers on a suborbital trip experience weightlessness and incredible views, these launches are more accessible.

The difficulty and expense of either option has meant that, traditionally, only nation-states have been able to explore space. This began to change in the 1990s as a series of entrepreneurs entered the space arena. Three companies led by billionaire CEOs have emerged as the major players: Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX. Though none have taken paying, private customers to space, all anticipate doing so in the very near future.

British billionaire Richard Branson has built his brand on not just business but also his love of adventure. In pursuing space tourism, Branson has brought both of those to bear. He established Virgin Galactic after buying SpaceShipOne - a company that won the Ansari X-Prize by building the first reusable spaceship. Since then, Virgin Galactic has sought to design, build and fly a larger SpaceShipTwo that can carry up to six passengers in a suborbital flight.

The going has been harder than anticipated. While Branson predicted opening the business to tourists in 2009, Virgin Galactic has encountered some significant hurdles – including the death of a pilot in a crash in 2014 . After the crash, engineers found significant problems with the design of the vehicle, which required modifications.

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, respective leaders of SpaceX and Blue Origin, began their own ventures in the early 2000s.

Musk, fearing that a catastrophe of some sort could leave Earth uninhabitable, was frustrated at the lack of progress in making humanity a multiplanetary species. He founded SpaceX in 2002 with the goal of first developing reusable launch technology to decrease the cost of getting to space. Since then, SpaceX has found success with its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX’s ultimate goal is human settlement of Mars – sending paying customers to space is an intermediate step. Musk says he hopes to show that space travel can be done easily and that tourism might provide a revenue stream to support development of the larger, Mars-focused Starship system.

Bezos, inspired by the vision of physicist Gerard O’Neill , wants to expand humanity and industry not to Mars, but to space itself. Blue Origin , established in 2004, has proceeded slowly and quietly in also developing reusable rockets. Its New Shepard rocket, first successfully flown in 2015, will eventually offer tourists a suborbital trip to the edge of space, similar to Virgin Galactic’s. For Bezos, these launches represent an effort at making space travel routine, reliable and accessible to people as a first step to enabling further space exploration.

Outlook for the future

Now, SpaceX is the only option for someone looking to go into space and orbit the Earth. It currently has two tourist launches planned. The first is scheduled for as early as September 2021 , funded by billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman. The other trip, planned for 2022, is being organized by Axiom Space . These trips will be costly , at $55 million for the flight and a stay on the International Space Station. The high cost has led some to warn that space tourism – and private access to space more broadly – might reinforce inequality between rich and poor.

Blue Origin’s and Virgin Galactic’s suborbital trips are far more reasonable in cost, with both priced between $200,000 and $250,000 . Blue Origin appears to be the nearest to allowing paying customers on board, saying after a recent launch that crewed missions would be happening “soon.” Virgin Galactic continues to test SpaceShipTwo, but no specific timetable has been announced for tourist flights.

Though these prices are high, it is worth considering that Dennis Tito’s $20 million ticket in 2001 could pay for 100 flights on Blue Origin soon. The experience of viewing the Earth from space, though, may prove to be priceless for a whole new generation of space explorers.

[ Over 104,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world. Sign up today .]

An updated version of this article was published on May 7, 2021. Read it here .

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Space Tourism Is Here: Booking a Trip to the Final Frontier

The next era of space exploration and innovation is here — and we're all invited. A billionaire space race is underway as Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, and others are testing the technology to take us to places previously visited only by highly trained astronauts. Space tourism is officially taking flight, and it might just save the Earth.

In July 2021, we watched as Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos took to the skies in a giant leap for the space tourism industry, but their launches to the edge of space weren't timed particularly well. Against the backdrop of a global pandemic and climate emergency, two billionaires taking joy rides to space may not have been good optics, but don't underestimate what just happened — and how important it could be for the future of humanity.

With the first crewed launches of Virgin Galactic's supersonic space plane and Blue Origin's reusable rocket, a world of commercial space travel is taking its first step. Both companies plan to begin regular, scheduled trips for paying space tourists in the near future, but their visions stretch back many years to the beginning of human spaceflight.

The Space Race: Then and Now

Bezos's Blue Origin chose an auspicious day to send its first crew to space. July 20, 2021 was exactly 52 years after Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. But that wasn't the only major space travel anniversary celebrated in 2021.

April 12 was the 60th anniversary of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first human to not only reach space, but also go into orbit around Earth. Meanwhile, May 5 saw the 60th anniversary of NASA's Freedom 7 mission, which launched Alan Shepard on a suborbital flight that lasted 15 minutes. He reached an altitude of 101 miles to become the first American in space before his capsule parachuted to splashdown in the ocean.

The name of Blue Origin's New Shepard launch system is no coincidence. Its mission profile is almost identical to America's inaugural 1961 spaceflight, save for billionaire-grade comfy seats and large windows. From Launch Site One near Van Horn in the West Texas desert, that rocket fires a capsule containing up to six people (but no pilot) into space, which then parachutes down 15 minutes later.

The Virgin Galactic experience is different. Its supersonic rocket-powered spaceplane SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity seats six passengers and two highly trained pilots. It takes off on a runway from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, while strapped to a mothership. At 52,000 feet, it detaches and burns its rocket engine for one minute to reach Mach 3 speeds and touch the edge of space. After a few minutes of weightlessness (and a chance for passengers to see the curvature of Earth against the blackness of space), it glides back to land on a runway.

The Price for a Ticket to Space

These short trips are anticipated to cost between $250,000 and $500,000, but in January 2022, expect to see a truly out-of-this-world private trip to space with an even more astronomical price tag. It will come from the other, arguably much more important billionaire in the space tourism bubble: Elon Musk. Axiom Mission 1 will see his company, SpaceX, launch four private astronauts on behalf of Houston-based space tourism company Axiom Space. An American real estate investor, a Canadian investor, a former Israeli Air Force pilot, and an ex-Space Shuttle pilot will launch on an incredible orbital mission in its Crew Dragon spacecraft.

At $55 million per ticket, this is ultra-aspirational space tourism of the highest order. "The experience is drastically different because they will be launching on a SpaceX rocket and going to the International Space Station (ISS) for 10 days," says Christina Korp, cofounder of Space for a Better World . "They will be doing what real astronauts do, and I don't think it's an accident that Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin did their flights before Axiom's mission." Axiom Space intends to launch a private space station — the first "space hotel" — as early as 2024 to give space tourists somewhere to visit.

The Future of Space Tourism — and of Our Planet

Musk talks of Mars colonies and humanity spreading out into the cosmos, but since 2012, SpaceX has made a lot of money from NASA contracts to launch supplies to the ISS. In the summer of 2020, it began ferrying NASA astronauts there, too. SpaceX's Starship — currently being tested — will land two NASA astronauts, the first woman and the next man, on the moon in 2024.

You see, space tourism is just a sideshow to a bigger and more worthy goal of saving the planet. Next year, Blue Origin plans to test its reusable New Glenn rocket — named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 — which will be able to take cargo and astronauts into orbit. Bezos has said he thinks we need to go to space to save Earth, specifically by protecting the planet from pollution by moving heavy industry into space. That can only happen when space travel is safe, scheduled, and affordable. Space tourism will help create a competitive space economy, just as mass tourism has lowered the cost of flying.

Similarly, Branson's aim is to increase access to space. "We are at the vanguard of a new space age…Our mission is to make space more accessible to all," he said after his inaugural flight. A microgravity experiment was on board that first flight on July 11, with similar plans for all subsequent trips. Meanwhile, sister company Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne sends small satellites and science payloads into orbit via a small rocket launch from underneath the wing of a Boeing 747.

The scientific spin-offs for all of us down on Earth are currently unknown, but the space community has an incredible track record when it comes to innovation. "Clean energy as solar power is from the space program," says Korp. "Solar panels were invented to power satellites and refined to power spacecraft." Cue GPS, weather forecasting, telecommunications, and even internet access. There are also fleets of satellites large and small that observe how our planet is behaving and changing. "It's the space industry that's monitoring climate change, tracking hurricanes, and learning how to survive in the extreme environment of space — including experiments to grow food with almost no water, for example," says Korp. Every single space mission, including suborbital and even zero-gravity flights, have environmental experiments on board as default.

"This is not about escaping Earth," said Bezos after the flight. "The whole point is, this is the only good planet in the solar system and we have to take care of it." Bezos wants to scale up into affordable space travel. That will enable long-term, commercial projects that ultimately may help prevent further climate change, or at least help us cope with its consequences.

However, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX won't be the only way to reach space. Russian space agency Roscosmos is expected to take "citizen space explorers" to the ISS soon, but the most affordable way to get "black sky time" may be with Space Perspective , which will launch a pressurized capsule propelled by a high-performance space balloon.

The six-hour flight will cost around $125,000 per person and launch from Space Coast Spaceport in Florida in 2024. "Unlike short-lived, adrenaline-fueled moments of weightlessness, Space Perspective flights bring you space calm," says Jane Poynter, founder, co-CEO, and CXO of Space Perspective. The flights on Spaceship Neptune involve a gentle ascent at just 12 miles per hour for a six-hour tour of Earth's biosphere, culminating in a view of our beautiful planet from space.

Space tourism is here at last. Instagram had better get ready for "Earth selfies."

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Editorial Lead: Elizabeth Rhodes Contributors: Jamie Carter and Stefanie Waldek Visuals Editor: Mariah Tyler Art Director: Jenna Brillhart Designer: Sarah Maiden

Want to be a space tourist? Here are 6 things to consider first

The industry of space tourism could exist in the future. Image:  Unsplash/NASA

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• In July 2021, entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos went up into space, accompanied by fellow passengers.
• These trips created vast amounts of media coverage and brand recognition for Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Bezos’ Blue Origin.
• This could indicate that a commercial space tourism industry is on the horizon.
• Before space trips become commercially available, important factors such as environmental and safety laws need to be considered.

It’s been a momentous month for space-faring billionaires. On July 11, British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson’s Unity “rocket-plane” flew him and five fellow passengers about 85 kilometres above Earth. And this week, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ New Shepard capsule reached an altitude of 106km , carrying Bezos, his brother, and the oldest and youngest people ever to reach such a height. Passengers on both flights experienced several minutes of weightlessness and took in breathtaking views of our beautiful and fragile Earth.

Both flights created an avalanche of media coverage and brand recognition for Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Bezos’s Blue Origin. There is renewed anticipation of a lucrative commercial space tourism industry that could eventually see thousands of paying passengers journey into space (or not quite into space, depending on your preferred level of pedantry).

This year marks 60 years since Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. Since then, almost 600 trained astronauts have gone into outer space, but very few people have become space tourists.

The first, US engineer Dennis Tito, paid a reported US$20 million to spend six days orbiting Earth in the Russian section of the International Space Station in April 2001, after three months’ training at Russia’s Star City complex. He was followed by a handful of other very wealthy “orbital tourists”, most recently Cirque de Soleil founder Guy Laliberté in 2009, whose ticket reportedly cost US$35 million.

Unlike their predecessors, Branson’s and Bezos’ flights were suborbital – they didn’t reach the velocity needed to orbit Earth. Bezos’s entire flight lasted just over 10 minutes. Suborbital flights are much less technically complex, and in theory cheaper (although one seat on the New Shepard flight was auctioned for US$28 million ).

While they might quibble over billionaire bragging rights, there’s no denying that suborbital “space” flights have the potential to be less eye-wateringly expensive than going into orbital outer space and beyond.

But before you sign up – assuming you’re lucky enough to afford it – here are a few things to consider.

Where does space start, anyway?

Have you read, how many space launches does it take to have a serious climate impact, from space squid to saliva: what's inside nasa's cargo missions and why, the big space clean-up - and why it matters.

Despite assertions to the contrary , there is no legal definition of “outer space”, and thus no official boundary where airspace ends and outer space begins. In the past, the International Aeronautical Federation has looked to the von Karman line , but this does not coincide with the boundary of any of the atmosphere’s scientifically defined layers, and the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space , which deals with such issues, has not yet resolved the question.

Conveniently for Branson, 80km has been proposed by some experts as an appropriate boundary.

Outer space is undeniably influenced by Earthly geopolitics. Essentially, the larger space-faring countries see no need to legally define a boundary that would clearly demarcate the upper limits of their sovereignty.

Will you be an ‘astronaut’?

The 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty designates astronauts as “envoys of (hu)mankind in outer space”. Certainly, that seemed to be the case as the world watched the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing and prayed for a safe return of the stricken Apollo 13 capsule. However, the 1968 UN Rescue Agreement refers to “personnel of a spacecraft”, which may imply not everyone on board should be considered a fully fledged astronaut.

Of course, these legal niceties won’t deter space tourism companies from awarding “astronaut wings” to their passengers.

What laws apply when things go wrong?

The 1986 Challenger and 2003 Columbia shuttle disasters are stark reminders of the dangers of space travel. Human space travel has always involved determining acceptable levels of risk for trained astronauts. But commercial space tourism is different to state-sponsored space programs, and will need the highest possible safety standards.

Commercial space travel will also require a system of responsibility and liability, for cases in which a space tourist suffers injury, loss or damage.

Space tourists (or their families) can’t claim for compensation under the 1972 UN Liability Convention which, in terms of space, applies only to collisions between space objects such as satellites and space debris. While there may be scope to take legal action under national laws, it is likely space tourists will be asked to sign carefully worded waivers of liability.

The same is probably true of international air law , which applies to “aircraft” — a designation space tourism operators will understandably be keen to avoid.

Ultimately, we may need to develop a system of “aerospace law” to govern these suborbital flights as well as “transorbital” transport such as the keenly envisaged flights that might one day take passengers from Sydney to London in just a few hours.

What activities should be allowed in space?

The advent of space tourism will give rise to some interesting ethical questions. Should there be advertising billboards in space? What about casinos, or brothels? On what legal basis should these things be restricted?

How does tourism fit with the underlying philosophy of space law: that the exploration and use of outer space “shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries”?

Will space tourism harm the environment?

Space tourism will inevitably put pressure on Earth’s environment – there are claims that space vehicles may one day become the world’s biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions. We will need to manage space traffic carefully to avoid disastrous collisions and steer clear of space debris .

If tourists go to the Moon, they may cause pollution or damage the heritage of earlier exploration, such as Neil Armstrong’s footprints .

Will tourism workers have to live in space?

If space tourism does become truly widespread, it will need infrastructure and perhaps even staff. People may end up living permanently in space settlements, perhaps having children who will be born as “space citizens”. What legal rights would someone have if they were born at a Moon base? Would they be subject to terrestrial laws, or some version of current international legal rules for outer space?

The World Economic Forum was the first to draw the world’s attention to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the current period of unprecedented change driven by rapid technological advances. Policies, norms and regulations have not been able to keep up with the pace of innovation, creating a growing need to fill this gap.

The Forum established the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network in 2017 to ensure that new and emerging technologies will help—not harm—humanity in the future. Headquartered in San Francisco, the network launched centres in China, India and Japan in 2018 and is rapidly establishing locally-run Affiliate Centres in many countries around the world.

The global network is working closely with partners from government, business, academia and civil society to co-design and pilot agile frameworks for governing new and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) , autonomous vehicles , blockchain , data policy , digital trade , drones , internet of things (IoT) , precision medicine and environmental innovations .

Learn more about the groundbreaking work that the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network is doing to prepare us for the future.

Want to help us shape the Fourth Industrial Revolution? Contact us to find out how you can become a member or partner.

These are obviously questions for the future. But given the excitement generated by the brief journeys of a couple of wealthy entrepreneurs, we should start contemplating them now. Outer space is the new frontier, but it is not — and must not — be a lawless one.

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Blue Origin’s New Shepard: Space tourism for the masses?

Table of Contents

What you’ll learn from this blog post In this blog post, you have learned about: What Blue Origin’s New Shepard program is and its goals The New Shepard vehicle and its safety features The benefits of the New Shepard program for the space industry and society as a whole The future of the New Shepard program and its potential impact on space tourism and exploration

Blue Origin’s New Shepard is a suborbital launch vehicle and spacecraft designed for space tourism. It is named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space. New Shepard consists of a reusable booster rocket and a crew capsule. The capsule can carry up to six passengers and can reach an altitude of over 62 miles (100 km), which is above the internationally recognized boundary of space.

New Shepard is still under development, but it has the potential to make us space tourism more affordable and accessible than it has ever been before. The vehicle is also being used to develop new technologies that can be used for future space exploration missions.

Space tourism is the commercialization of space travel for private citizens. It is a relatively new industry, but it is growing rapidly. There are a number of reasons why people are interested in space tourism. For some, it is a chance to experience the thrill of space travel and to see the Earth from a unique perspective. For others, it is a way to support the development of the space industry and to help pave the way for future human exploration of space.

Blue Origin’s New Shepard program is an important step forward in making space tourism a reality. The vehicle is safe, reliable, and reusable, which makes it ideal for commercial space travel. Blue Origin is also committed to making space tourism more affordable and accessible to everyone.

In this blog post, we will take a closer look at Blue Origin’s New Shepard program. We will discuss the vehicle, the program’s goals, and the benefits of the program for the space industry and for society as a whole. We will also discuss the future of the New Shepard program and its potential impact on the space industry and on society as a whole.

Blue Origin

Blue Origin is a private space exploration company founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000. The company’s goal is to make space travel accessible to everyone. Blue Origin is developing a number of different vehicles and technologies to achieve this goal, including the New Shepard suborbital launch vehicle, the New Glenn orbital launch vehicle, and the Blue Moon human landing system.

The New Shepard program is Blue Origin’s first program to launch people into space. New Shepard is a suborbital launch vehicle, which means that it does not reach orbit around the Earth. Instead, it launches to an altitude of over 62 miles (100 km) and then returns to Earth. This type of flight profile allows passengers to experience weightlessness for a few minutes and to see the curvature of the Earth.

New Shepard is a reusable launch vehicle, which means that the booster rocket and crew capsule can be used multiple times. This helps to reduce the cost of space tourism and makes it more accessible to people.

Blue Origin has completed 22 successful New Shepard missions, including six crewed missions. The company plans to continue flying regular space tourism missions in the coming years.

New Shepard program

New Shepard consists of a reusable booster rocket and a crew capsule. The crew capsule can carry up to six passengers and is equipped with large windows so passengers can enjoy the view of space.

The New Shepard program began in 2012 with the first successful test launch of the booster rocket. The first successful crewed flight of New Shepard took place on July 20, 2021. Since then, Blue Origin has completed six successful crewed missions of New Shepard.

The program is an important step forward in making space tourism a reality. The vehicle is safe, reliable, and reusable, which makes it ideal for commercial space travel. Blue Origin is also committed to making space tourism more affordable and accessible to everyone.

New Shepard vehicle

The New Shepard vehicle consists of a reusable booster rocket and a crew capsule.

The booster rocket is powered by a single BE-3 engine. The BE-3 engine is a liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen engine that is more efficient and environmentally friendly than traditional rocket engines.

The crew capsule is pressurized and air-conditioned. It is also equipped with large windows so passengers can enjoy the view of space.

The New Shepard vehicle can carry up to six passengers and can reach an altitude of over 62 miles (100 km), which is above the internationally recognized boundary of space.

The New Shepard vehicle is launched from a launch site in West Texas. The booster rocket accelerates the crew capsule to an altitude of over 62 miles (100 km). The crew then experiences weightlessness for a few minutes. The booster rocket then separates from the crew capsule and returns to Earth. The crew capsule then descends back to Earth under parachutes.

New Shepard flights

A typical New Shepard flight lasts for about 11 minutes. The booster rocket accelerates the crew capsule to an altitude of over 62 miles (100 km). The crew then experiences weightlessness for a few minutes. The booster rocket then separates from the crew capsule and returns to Earth. The crew capsule then descends back to Earth under parachutes.

New Shepard safety

New Shepard has been designed with safety as a top priority. The vehicle has a number of safety features, including a redundant propulsion system and a launch abort system.

The redundant propulsion system ensures that the vehicle can still reach space even if one of the engines fails. The launch abort system can be used to separate the crew capsule from the booster rocket in the event of an emergency.

New Shepard cost

The cost of a New Shepard flight has not been publicly disclosed. However, it is expected to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This makes it more affordable than other space tourism options, such as a flight on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.

Benefits of the New Shepard program

The New Shepard program has a number of benefits for the space industry and for society as a whole.

Making space travel more affordable and accessible

The New Shepard program is helping to make space travel more affordable and accessible to the public. The cost of a New Shepard flight is still relatively high, but it is lower than the cost of other space tourism options. As the program continues to develop and mature, the cost of flights is expected to come down even further.

ALSO READ : DISCOVERING NEW FRONTIERS: THE FUTURE OF SPACE TRAVEL

Developing new technologies for space exploration.

The New Shepard program is also helping to develop new technologies that can be used for future space exploration missions. For example, New Shepard is using a new type of engine called the BE-3 engine. The BE-3 engine is more efficient and environmentally friendly than traditional rocket engines. The technologies developed for the New Shepard program could be used to develop new spacecraft and launch vehicles for future missions to the Moon and Mars.

Inspiring a new generation of scientists and engineers

The New Shepard program is also inspiring a new generation of scientists and engineers to pursue careers in space exploration. The program is showing that it is possible to develop reusable launch vehicles and to make space travel more affordable and accessible to the public. This is inspiring young people to study science and engineering and to pursue careers in the space industry.

Future of the New Shepard program

Blue Origin has a number of plans for the future of the New Shepard program.

Regular space tourism missions

Blue Origin plans to continue flying regular space tourism missions on New Shepard. The company is also working to make the program more affordable and accessible to people from all walks of life.

New Glenn orbital launch vehicle

Blue Origin is developing a new orbital launch vehicle called New Glenn . New Glenn will be able to carry payloads and people into orbit, which will open up new possibilities for space tourism and exploration.

New Glenn is expected to make its first flight in 2023. The vehicle will be able to carry up to 45 tons of payload into orbit. This will make it one of the most powerful orbital launch vehicles in operation.

Blue Moon human landing system

Blue Origin is also developing a human landing system called Blue Moon. Blue Moon is designed to land astronauts on the Moon and is part of NASA’s Artemis program.

Blue Moon is expected to make its first landing on the Moon in 2025. The vehicle will be able to carry up to six astronauts and up to 13,600 kg of cargo to the Moon.

Impact of the New Shepard program on the space industry

The New Shepard program is having a positive impact on the space industry in a number of ways.

New Shepard and the development of reusable launch vehicles

New Shepard is helping to drive the development of reusable launch vehicles. Reusable launch vehicles are more efficient and environmentally friendly than traditional launch vehicles. They can also be used to reduce the cost of space travel.

New Shepard and the growth of the space tourism industry

New Shepard is also helping to grow the space tourism industry . Space tourism is a new and growing industry that has the potential to generate billions of dollars in revenue and create thousands of jobs.

ALSO READ: SPACE TOURISM DREAMS: HOW CLOSE ARE WE TO VACATIONING IN SPACE?

New shepard and the future of space exploration.

New Shepard is also helping to pave the way for future space exploration missions. The technologies developed for New Shepard could be used to develop new spacecraft and launch vehicles for future missions to the Moon and Mars.

Overall, the New Shepard program is having a positive impact on the space industry and is helping to make space travel more affordable, accessible, and sustainable.

Blue Origin’s New Shepard program is a groundbreaking initiative that is helping to make space travel more affordable, accessible, and sustainable. The program is also developing new technologies that could be used for future space exploration missions.

The New Shepard program has the potential to revolutionize the space industry and make space travel a reality for more people than ever before. The program is also inspiring a new generation of scientists and engineers to pursue careers in space exploration.

Overall, the New Shepard program is a positive development for the space industry and for society as a whole. It is a program that is worth watching and supporting.

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Space tourism won’t be affordable for the masses any time soon

This illustration provided by the American Museum of Natural History depicts the planet Earth, center, with the Sun in the background. The line of spots across the center of the image indicates star systems which can see Earth as it goes in front of our Sun. (OpenSpace/American Museum of Natural History via AP)

(CNN) — Billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos are ready start offering trips to outer space. But only other billionaires — or perhaps millionaires — need apply.

If you’re a space enthusiast without six figures of disposable income to spend on a trip to go where few tourists have gone before, you’ll have to wait. Space flights that cost only four-figures, or even in the low five-figures, are not going to be available anytime soon.

Experts agree it’s impossible today to give an accurate target date for when affordable space flights will be available to the masses, but most agree they are decades away, at best.

Reaching a critical mass

One of the biggest challenges is the difficulty of getting enough would-be amateur astronauts into space at one time to spread out the costs to make space travel affordable.

“Early planes carried very few people,” said Laura Forczyk, owner of space consulting firm Astralytical. “Imagine what air fares would be like if they still only carried a few.”

Virgin Galactic’s  well-publicized test flight  with  Branson  aboard carried just four passengers in addition to the two pilots. Bezos, his brother and two other passengers are scheduled to be on the  first Blue Origin rocket  to carry tourists next week.

“If you want to get to get the price from $250,000 down to four digits, like an airline, you have to spread it over far more bodies,” said Ron Epstein, an aerospace analyst with Bank of America. But getting that many people into space on one flight is extremely difficult. It’s an endeavor that requires tremendous amounts of fuel and energy to lift every pound. The technology just doesn’t exist today.

There also needs to be significant demand for space travel to fill those seats, no matter the price.

“The only way to get that volume is to have it be part of a transportation network,” Epstein said. “Do you want to spend all the time to just have a joy ride? No. You want to go from New York to Tokyo in an hour or two.”

Two birds, one moonshot

That’s why Virgin is exploring possible point-to-point  space flights across the globe , cutting the time it takes to go from New York to Tokyo or London to Hong Kong down to a few hours by traveling at hypersonic speeds through the vacuum of space.

It’s a market that in 2019 UBS estimated was worth $20 billion annually. The bank based that figure on the more than 150 million passengers who took trips of 10 hours or more by commercial jet in 2018. Getting just 5% of those fliers to pay $2,500 to travel by space would produce that $20 billion in annual revenue.

“Although some might view the potential to use space to service the long-haul travel market as science fiction,” UBS said in a note, “we think … point-to-point flights that take more than 10 hours … is a large market to be cannibalized.”

Epstein thinks UBS’s $2,500 space fare estimate is far too low. Business travelers today can spend more than $20,000 on a long-distance, round-trip business or first class ticket. He believes many of them would be willing to pay a premium to turn a 20-hour trip into one lasting only a few hours.

Teching the tech

But making that a reality will take time and all types of technological advances which are not possible today.

“The speed you have to go to get that many people into outer space is defined by the physics,” Epstein said. “It’s not something that will be easy to do. I think it’s going to happen in the lifetime of my kids, if not in my lifetime. But it’s not five years from now.”

The first space tourist was US millionaire  Dennis Tito , who paid Russia $20 million in 2001 to fly him to and from the International Space Station. He is the first of seven travelers to date who have paid millions to fly in space.

Although the price tag was far more expensive than the $250,000 tickets Branson is now selling, Tito stayed in orbit for eight days. So on a per-minute basis it was much cheaper, since Virgin Galactic passengers will only be weightless in space for three to five minutes.

(Copyright (c) 2024 CNN. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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Reaching for the stars: affordable space tourism for the masses

As a new age space race continues to gather momentum, an innovative Bristol-based aerospace company believes it holds the answers for affordable space tourism for the masses. We speak to the managing director to discover more…

The new age space race is well and truly underway. This year alone we’ve seen billionaires Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Elon Musk – all present leaders of vehicle development in space tourism – launch themselves and their ever-evolving technologies into space. In July, Branson’s VSS Unity spaceplane – which carried him, two pilots, and three mission specialists – beat Bezos’ Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket ship to the fringes of space by just nine days. Branson’s spaceflight company, Virgin Galactic, is aiming to operate multiple space tourism flights a year, and already has more than 600 customers interested in its £189,000 seats when they become available – including Justin Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Bezos’ rocket ship, which fittingly launched on the 52nd anniversary of the 1969 moon landing, carried himself, his brother and the youngest and oldest people to ever go to space. For three minutes, all on board were able to feel near-weightlessness and admire the curvature of the earth before returning home safely – an experience that Bezos is promising future tourists. And even as recently as September the world watched on as Musk’s SpaceX capsule, carrying the first all-civilian mission, splashed down successfully in the Atlantic Ocean after three days in orbit. There is no doubt that a vast expansion of space science and exploration is happening as we speak, which many, including Musk, consider to be essential for the future flourishing of humankind. “I want to die on Mars – just not on impact,” Musk once quipped.

However, as tickets for the billionaires’ inventions are set to cost eye-watering amounts of money, the real jackpot will be won by the first to build a transportation system able to provide routine and affordable spaceflight for the masses. Enter Bristol Spaceplanes Limited, an innovative company hoping to do just that. According to Bristol Spaceplanes, within the next 15 years, tourists could be enjoying a trip to space “for not much more than a return first class ticket to New York”.

Intrigued by such ambitious plans, we spoke to Managing Director David Ashford, whose CV spans some of the world’s most-well regarded aerospace companies and whose portfolio even includes work on the supersonic airliner, Concorde. This month, we found out more about the possibilities of affordable space tourism and how the city could become the beating heart of a revolutionary new industry.

The designs The key to Bristol Spaceplanes’ plan is an original design philosophy that aims for airliner standards of safety. Since airliners are the safest flying machines yet invented, Bristol Spaceplanes’ designs are as much like airliners as is practicable – they are piloted, they have wings for taking off and landing, they use conventional runways, and they have jet engines.

Since Bristol Spaceplanes was founded in 1991, it has received grants from four government agencies and developed a strategy to build a series of progressively more advanced spaceplanes. Its designs have been well scrutinised as a result of feedback from studies and peer-reviewed papers in professional journals and Ashford himself has spent his career gaining valuable insight into the technologies needed for suborbital and orbital spaceplanes. After graduating from Imperial College in aeronautical engineering, he spent one year at Princeton doing post-graduate research on rocket motors. In 1961, he began working in Hawker Siddeley Aviation’s spaceplane design team before joining BAE Systems.

He wrote his first paper on spaceplanes for the Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1965. “What would have been a difficult and expensive development in the 1960s should now be straightforward, thanks to developments since then. Spaceplanes looked like a good idea then, and still do today,” says Ashford.

The Ascender

The first vehicle in the series is the Ascender suborbital spaceplane, which is designed to be the first aeroplane capable of routine flights to space. Bristol Spaceplanes proposes that after initial proving, it will be able to make several flights per day with just a quick check and refuelling between most flights.

The key to this capability is that it is designed to use jet engines up to supersonic speed on the atmospheric part of the climb. Using jets to such a high speed saves fuel compared with using rockets and enables a single vehicle to climb briefly to space height. None of the thirty or so other suborbital spaceplane designs proposed over the years have had this feature. The three that have actually flown (the X-15 in 1961, SpaceShipOne, 2004, and VSS Unity 2018) were launched from carrier aeroplanes, which add cost and complexity.

Ascender is like a quarter-scale Concorde with two seats, a simplified wing shape, and fitted with two jet engines and a rocket motor. It takes off from a conventional runway and then accelerates using its jet engines only. The rocket engine is then started and the pilot pulls it up into a steep climb. It then climbs unpowered to space height and after a few minutes in space, gravity pulls it back down into a steep dive towards Earth. The pilot then pulls it out of the dive, re-starts the jet engines, and flies Ascender back to the airport that it took off from. This is a suborbital trajectory that provides just a few minutes in space – an orbital trajectory involves accelerating to a higher speed so that the launcher can stay up like a satellite.

The Spacecab

Ascender is a stepping-stone to the Spacecab Lower Stage, which has a similar shape and configuration but is enlarged to Concorde size and able to carry 20 passengers on space experience flights in an attached module. Its trajectory would be suborbital, similar to that of Ascender. When the design reaches full maturity, it could be operated like an airliner and the cost per seat would then come down to about £5,000. In place of the 20-passenger module, an enlarged Ascender can carry a reusable upper stage able to launch a medium satellite or carry a crew of six, or supplies to a space station in orbit. This combination is the Spacecab two-stage orbital spaceplane.

As the only orbital launcher with the key features essential for bringing in the new space age (piloted, winged, two stages) currently being proposed, Spacecab would transform transport to orbit from a missile-like system using largely throwaway launchers to an aviation-like one, resulting in greatly reduced costs and improved safety.

The Spacebus

The fourth and final vehicle on the sequence is Spacebus, which is like a Spacecab enlarged to carry 50 people to orbit. “When fully mature, the cost of a few days in a space hotel would be a few tens of thousands of pounds, which is about one thousand times less than the cost today of sending an astronaut to space. This would clearly revolutionise spaceflight,” adds David. According to Bristol Spaceplanes, Spacebus would also be capable of carrying passengers from Europe to Australia in some 75 minutes flying time.

The experience In David’s book Space Exploration: All That Matters , he details the experience of what a space tourist can expect. For those of us finding t hard to imagine just what a trip to space might look, feel and sound like, Ashford writes: “Your seat in the spaceplane will be quite similar to an airliner seat. You will, however, be wearing the emergency pressure suit. Take-off and initial climb will again be just like an airliner. You will notice the difference when the Orbiter stage of the spaceplane, in which you are seated, separates from the carrier aeroplane. You will see the latter disappearing beneath you. Then, when the rocket engines are set to full throttle, you will hear a louder noise, feel considerable vibration, and feel a strong push on your back as the acceleration increasers.” He continues: “As you leave the effective atmosphere, you will see the sky turning dark. When your eyes have adapted you will see bright stars even in daytime. At this point you will able to see the ground a for a distance of several hundred kilometres and the curvature of the earth.

“After about six minutes of acceleration in the Orbiter, the rocket engines will stop and the noise and vibration will all but vanish. You will feel weightless for the first time. Soon afterwards, the hotel will come into view and if you are sitting at an appropriate window, you will be able to watch the docking manoeuvre. This will be a bit like a ship berthing at a pier except that it will be in three dimensions rather than two and the dock-hands attaching lines will be replaced by robot arms. A few minutes later, you will float weightlessly down the aisle, using banisters to guide you, through the cabin door and the air-lock passage and into the hotel.”

The environment It is important to mention the environmental effects of Bristol Spaceplanes’ proposed designs. With Bristol being the UK’s first ever European Green Capital; home to dozens of ethical B Corporations; as well as the proud owner of the largest concentration of wildlife production companies in the world – it’s important not to discredit Bristol’s tremendous progress in tackling the environmental crisis.

According to Bristol Spaceplanes, the main disadvantage of low-cost access to space will be increased atmospheric pollution. Spaceplanes climbing to space will cause injections of pollutant into the high atmosphere, which may be persistent and the effects will need to be studied carefully. However, it is likely that the propellants will be liquid hydrogen and oxygen and the exhaust product will therefore be water vapour, which is non-toxic. Bristol Spaceplanes is confident that the vast environmental benefits of the spaceplanes will greatly outweigh this disadvantage for a number of reasons.

Firstly, Bristol Spaceplanes argues that its models will greatly reduce the cost of environmental science from space, which is key to understanding human impact on the environment. There will be a rapid gain in environmental knowledge, which will help us to restrict our polluting activities in a more effective manner. The large Envisat satellite, for example, was launched in 2002. It worked for ten years before being declared no longer operational. It led to much ground-breaking research in the fields of atmospheric chemistry, ozone depletion, biological oceanography, natural hazards, monitoring of maritime traffic, and study of snow and ice, to name just a few. However, it cost about $2 billion to develop and launch, and very few such satellites can be afforded. But, with low-cost access by spaceplane, several satellites of this kind could be built. They could be optionally man-tended and could be larger and more capable than Envisat.

The second benefit is a boost to the hydrogen economy. Spaceplanes are likely to be among the early large-scale commercial users of liquid hydrogen fuel, which in turn will make it easier for it to be adopted for aeroplanes and ground transport systems.

Even today, the big space agencies are all promoting expendable launchers. This mindset remains the biggest obstacle to building an orbital spaceplane.”

The third benefit, which is longer-term, is that using resources from space will reduce the pressure on our own planet. Two likely candidates for first place are solar power satellites and mining asteroids. Large satellites for collecting solar power and transmitting it to Earth have been the subject of much study. According to Bristol Spaceplanes, the energy from the sun reaching the earth in just three days is equal to that in the fossil fuels needed to keep the human race supplied with energy for 100 years at the present rate of consumption. A satellite of just 250km diameter could supply all of our present energy needs, assuming 10 per cent overall efficiency, with a very low carbon footprint. On the other hand, the solar power satellites have to be launched into orbit and the power has to be transmitted back to Earth. Many engineering problems remain unsolved and it remains unclear how commercially competitive space solar power will be. The high cost of transport to space has so far prevented even small pilot schemes. Not one light bulb on Earth has yet been lit using power from space. Spaceplanes will enable the construction of satellites large enough to explore the feasibility of solar power collection in space for use on Earth. It is clearly prudent to do research on such future energy options as soon as the cost permits.

Beyond the environmental benefits, Bristol Spaceplanes also wonders what the effects of large-scale space tourism, space art, space sport, and expanded space science and exploration will have on human thinking. “Some indication is available from the experience of astronauts,” says David. “Most have said that going to space was a transforming experience, and that they would like to go again. They tend to return to Earth with a more global perspective than when they left. They are more conscious of the fragility of ‘Spaceship Earth’.When a million and more people visit space each year, we can expect these views to spread, which should make it easier to generate global action to counter the various perils that face our home planet.”

Why Bristol? Bristol is the hub of a world-class aerospace cluster and has access to all the required technologies for Bristol Spaceplanes. The Bristol and Colonial Aeroplane Company in 1910 became arguably the world’s largest aircraft factory and built some of the best aeroplanes during World War I. Shortly after the war, it bought the aero engine company Cosmos Engineering and through years of succession, takeovers and mergers, eventually became part of BAE Systems – a co-manufacturer of Concorde. Today, the region’s companies are still at the forefront of the world’s aerospace industry, housing Airbus UK, GKN, and Rolls-Royce.

Breaking the mould Ashford believes the main obstacle for Bristol Spaceplanes is the power of traditional thinking and remembers a great opportunity that was missed in the 1970s to build a fully reusable orbital spaceplane. “If this had happened, space transportation to orbit would now be routine and affordable,” he says. “The Space Shuttle was sold originally as a reusable project but, being in the event largely expendable, could never live up to its promise. This history has created institutions and habits of thought that have repeatedly reinforced the expendable habit. Even today, the big space agencies are all promoting expendable launchers. This mindset remains the biggest obstacle to building an orbital spaceplane.”

Eager to put Bristol at the forefront of the industry, Bristol Spaceplanes is looking for investors to help it build a model that will not only further improve its designs but attract industrial partners. Together with these partners, steps towards an affordable space tourism can finally take place.

Visit bristolspaceplanes.com for more information about Bristol Spaceplanes .

The Bristol Magazine Newsletter

Space Tourism: Marketing to the Masses

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Commuterspace travel is sure to roar to life as a big business, at least that's whatspace entrepreneurs are hoping for. In fact, people are already putting downmoney for ticketed flight on rockets that are more artwork than hardware.

Nonetheless, the dream of patrons-as-payloads on outboundspaceships seems more real than ever with the government already attempting toregulate the fledgling industry.

Firms like VirginGalactic, a space tourism venture backed by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group,have begun work shaping a suborbital space travel market--with an eye towardeventual orbital jaunts for a fee.

But getting personal spaceflight solidly off the ground--andkeeping it there--also takes marketing savvy. Knowing the needs, expectations,and fears of your space passenger is critical.

A number ofspecialists in space tourism rallied at the 24 th International SpaceDevelopment Conference (ISDC), held here May 19-22, and sponsored by theNational Space Society.

New-to-world product

Marketing research is vital if commercial space tourismexperiences are to be designed on the basis of a sound understanding ofconsumer choice behavior, explainedGeoffrey Crouch, Professor of Marketing and Department Head of the School of Businessat La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.

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Crouch andhis colleagues, Timothy Devinney of the Australian Graduate School ofManagement, and Jordan Louviere at the University of Technology in Sydney,Australia are engaged in new spacetourism market research, work done as rigorously and as scientifically aspossible.

But thereare limitations, Crouch told SPACE.com."Particularly in this situation...you're dealing with an entirely new industry.It has no sort of past history, no past customer behavior to look back on andproject into the future."

Scoping outthe future of space tourism is very difficult, Crouch said, made all the moreso because it's a "new-to-world product."

Willing and wealthy folk

Crouchnoted that events of the past year have shown that commercial space tourism istechnologically feasible. But "commercial feasibility" is yet to bedemonstrated, he said, and added that this viability rests on more than theexistence of a few "willing and wealthy" folk, he said.

While thesigns are promising, commercial space tourism entrepreneurs have many marketingquestions that remain unanswered, Crouch reported. For example, what is thedemand-price relationship? And what characteristics will make a 'value formoney' experience for a space tourist?

There are ahost of variables that consumers of space travel will reach to and perceivedifferently. Among then: launch location, vehicle type, duration of weightlessness,and degree of training involved.

"Obviouslyprice is the one that people have been focusing on," Crouch said. "The safetyquestion is going to be a key factor in any person's mind as to whether theywould travel on any of these new commercial ventures."

Long and arduous path

The path tocommercial success for any product is "long and arduous," Crouch said.

For everysuccessful product, many others fail. Compared to other product categories, onemust expect that the chance of failure in space tourism will likely be muchhigher, Crouch said.

Of the20-plus private sub-orbital ventures, Crouch said, just how many of these willsucceed is uncertain. "Many ideas never get off the drawing board."

Crouchunveiled a preliminary set of suborbital findings from their research. Amongthem:

• The opportunity to float in zero-g was significantly preferred compared to being strapped in a seat
• Less extensive launch vehicle training was significantly preferred
• Highly educated individuals exhibited significantly less interest in suborbital space travel

Market research: forever and a day

"The bigproblem with suborbital is from a customer experience perspective," Crouchadvised. Pop-up travel to the fringes of space, then head for home gives acustomer five or six minutes of zero-g.

"It will bevery interesting to see the customer reaction to such a short experience,"Crouch observed. Nevertheless, there's enjoyment in preparing for the event."And a suborbital space tourist will have great party stories to tell for manyyears to come...so the experience will certainly linger for a long time."

Crouch andhis associates are ready for the long haul performing market research to flagimperatives for space tourism. "You don't do a study and everything is done.Doing market research is forever and a day. There is always that need."

Pyramid of experiences

High-profile flights intoorbit a few years ago of the well-to-do clearly spark general public interestin the array of space tourism-related programs available.

"Having a pyramid ofexperiences helps build the market all along the chain," said Eric Anderson,president and chief executive officer of Space Adventures, Ltd., based in Arlington, Virginia.

Space Adventures successfully launched private spaceexplorers to the International Space Station, strapped tight inside a RussianSoyuz TMA spacecraft roaring skyward from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Those "cash and carry" flights involved clients DennisTito and Mark Shuttleworth. Each shelled out $20 millionfor their orbital adventure.

"Over the next 18 months, there will be three Soyuz flights.Probably two of those will have our passengers on them," Anderson told SPACE.com.

Licensed to launch

Other offerings by Space Adventures includea variety of space training activities such as zero gravity and supersonic jetflights. They also have their eye on suborbital space treks.

The Space Adventures'suborbital program, currently in development, will consist of a four-daytraining period and a 90-minute spaceflight. The company anticipates suborbitalspaceflights to commence in the 2007-08 timeframe. The current price for theprogram is $102,000.

"I am very encouraged withthe successful flights of SpaceShipOne last year and the progression of thelegislation process in developing appropriate regulations for the industry,but, there is much more to be done," Anderson related.

In this regard, the FederalAviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation should makeobtaining a launch license for a qualified reusable launch vehicle"reasonable," Andersonsaid.

"That sword cuts bothways," Andersonadded. "Not everyone should be able to get one. We don't want people getting alaunch license and killing passengers. But people should not have to spend abillion dollars to get a license either."

Warning: hocus pocus rocketry

Warning: There is also abit of hucksterism going on.

Viewgraph visionaries areon the scene with little money, but touting a pet rocket design, Anderson confirmed. "Weare constantly contacted by somebody that has a better mouse trap, and theywant to show you how it works...but they've got no money for it."

"We need to maintain thecredibility of the industry," Andersonsaid. "If there's too much hocus pocus, then it all kind of blows away insmoke."

"Thequestion is going to be the long-term market and at what price," said RichPournelle director of business development at XCOR Aerospace of Mojave, California. The firm isdeveloping and producing safe, reliable, and reusable rocket engines and rocketpowered vehicles.

Among its projects, XCOR isworking on the Xerus, a rocket-powered suborbital vehicle. It would take offfrom a runway and attain high altitude, high speed flight. The company hasidentified three markets that their craft could service: conductingmicrogravity research experiments, launch micro-satellites into Earth orbit, aswell as flying passengers to the edge of space.

Ultimately, a passenger's ticketprice for a suborbital spree will come down after several hundred people haveflown, Pournelle said. He pointed out that in 1990 a T-1 connection to theInternet cost $1 million a year. Now the equivalent service is $19.99 a month.

"Don't think something like thatcan't happen to space transportation," Pournelle advised. If space tourism isto be successful as a business, he said, there's need to move successfulprograms to having successful products.

"The biggest thing that's going tomove markets to this industry is people making money," Pournelle concluded.

Leonard David is the Senior Space Writer with SPACE.com

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Leonard David is an award-winning space journalist who has been reporting on space activities for more than 50 years. Currently writing as Space.com's Space Insider Columnist among his other projects, Leonard has authored numerous books on space exploration, Mars missions and more, with his latest being "Moon Rush: The New Space Race" published in 2019 by National Geographic. He also wrote "Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet" released in 2016 by National Geographic. Leonard  has served as a correspondent for SpaceNews, Scientific American and Aerospace America for the AIAA. He was received many awards, including the first Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History in 2015 at the AAS Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium. You can find out Leonard's latest project at his website and on Twitter.

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Space travel for the masses

“Fifteen years from now, every kid will know that, if he wants to go into orbit in his lifetime, he can do that,” says Rutan, who designed SpaceShipOne, the first civilian vehicle to carry a pilot into space. That was a suborbital flight, which is much safer than orbital missions.

Rutan says the next step in civilian space efforts is to make orbital flight as safe as scheduled airlines were when they began operations in the 1920s. Back then, the chance of a passenger being killed on an airline flight was 1 in 6,000. That rate was 100 times safer than orbital flight is today, Rutan declares.

The immediate goal of Rutan’s company, Scaled Composites, is to develop a program that gives civilians the opportunity to fly into space on suborbital missions. He believes enough companies will enter this market to allow 100,000 people to leave Earth’s atmosphere in some 12 years of such flights.

The spaceship designer says recreation will be one of the major driving forces behind civilian space travel. “I’m predicting we’ll have a decade to a decade and a half of fun flying to space,” he says. “For the very first time, relatively soon, you’ll be able to buy a ticket and go faster than the fastest military fighter.” He says that experience will spur advanced space-travel developments. “You’ll see operational military aircraft going in and out of the atmosphere,” he adds.

Rutan blasted NASA for wasting more than 30 years with little development of manned space flight. “I call what happened in ’73 a collapse,” he says, citing what he calls America’s abandonment of lunar travel and the search for safe space flight. He praised the glory days of landing on the Moon. “The courage to make a decision is the reason we succeeded, and the reason we fail now.” He adds, “It was good that America lost on Sputnik. It was good that we lost on having the first man in space. That would’ve felt like a great accomplishment and JFK wouldn’t have pushed for a Moon mission.”

Rutan was inspired to design spaceships by some of his experiences as a child. “Mars was a hell of a lot more interesting in 1955 than it is now,” he says. “There was still debate over canals and vegetation.” Tongue-in-cheek, he adds, “NASA screwed it up by sending those robots [to Mars] and only landing in deserts, instead of downtown.”

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Space Travel for the Masses [2022 Study]

Let’s be honest:

The prospect of seeing the Earth’s curvature has always been, well, out of this world. After all, space is considered the final frontier, a luxury only the ultra-rich could afford.

When Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and British billionaire Richard Branson first took spacecraft for a spin to the outer limits with civilians on board in 2021, their flights arguably marked a new era of civilian space tourism. 

More importantly, they sparked hope mere mortals like us could also experience the Gs in our lifetime.

So, at Passport Photo Online, we’ve decided to survey 1,000+ Americans to get their POV on ​​space tourism for the general public, learn what’s the most they would pay to explore the great unknown, and much more.

Keep scrolling to see our findings.

United Space of America

To begin with, we wanted to gauge Americans’ attitude toward said billionaires taking private space flights. Below are the results:

• Positive: 37%
• Neutral: 30%
• Negative: 13%
• Very positive: 12%
• Very negative: 8%

As you can see, not everyone is excited about the billionaire space race. While their pioneering trips to the edge of the outer hemisphere have pushed space science forward, they also stirred a hornet’s nest in the media.

For one, a single rocket launch produces up to 300 tons of carbon dioxide, which is between about 50 and 100 times more than the one to three tons per passenger on a long-haul flight. That means the space tourism industry will likely come with vast environmental costs.

Two, many critics called Jeff Bezos’ and Richard Branson’s space flights nothing but an unnecessary and overpriced joyride for the super-elites, given there are many pressing issues to tackle on planet Earth.

Despite a fair amount of criticism, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, among other space tourism companies, heralded an important step toward making space travel more accessible. In fact, Bank of America estimates the total value of the space industry will reach $2.7 trillion by 2040.

So, we asked the respondents if they believe space tourism will become affordable for the general public within the next 25 years. A full 55% of Americans said “Yes”.

As a follow-up, we also asked who should be responsible for space tourism:

• National government agencies (e.g., NASA): 45%
• Private companies: 37%
• No difference: 18%

Lastly, we asked Americans if they are generally interested in going into space as tourists in their lifetime. It turns out, six out of 10 Americans (64%) want to travel to space. Yet, that number jumps to a whopping 82% for the respondents who indicated they previously engaged in adventurous activities (e.g., skydiving, snowboarding, rock climbing).

What’s also interesting is that after a closer data examination, we found that men, in particular, are more interested in space travel than women (74% vs. 54%). On top of it, age plays a role in people’s desire to “reach for the stars.” 

Here’s how different demographics compare:

• Gen Zers (25 or younger): 80%
• Millennials (26–38): 71%
• Gen Xers (39–54): 62%
• Baby Boomers (55+): 38%

Most Americans (particularly younger generations and those with an adventuresome spirit) indeed want to fly to space in their lifetime. See below what fuels their desire to fly up.

Why Americans Want to Go to Space

Without further ado, here are Americans’ top ten reasons to travel to space:

• To see Earth from space: 76%
• To look out into the universe: 55%
• To come to know what life in space is like: 41%
• To experience the acceleration of a rocket launch: 35%
• To feel weightlessness: 33%
• To do something only a few people have done before: 31%
• To fulfill a lifelong dream: 28%
• To take a selfie from space: 9%
• To do a spacewalk: 8%
• To get a chance to see aliens: 4%

As you can tell, most people want to see the Earth. That makes sense: there’s hardly any greater beauty than seeing our planet from up high. 

In fact, it even triggers a “cognitive shift in awareness”, which manifests in a higher sense of responsibility for the environment and a stronger bond to the planet, according to astronauts like Michael Collins and Rusty Schweikart, among others.

Here’s an account of the former:

“The thing that really surprised me was that it [Earth] projected an air of fragility. And why, I don’t know. I don’t know to this day. I had a feeling it’s tiny, it’s shiny, it’s beautiful, it’s home, and it’s fragile.”

For the sake of justice, it’s important to note that as of today, both Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic go to the edge of space, not into orbit. So, you only get around 15 minutes to see Earth, which isn’t the same as seeing it from above and having days to reflect and contemplate.

There’s an option, however, to go to orbit and spend a few days there. To do it, you’d need to hop on Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship and shell out $200 million for a seat vs. $200,000–$450,000 to fly on Virgin Galactic’s Space or Blue Origin’s New Shepard.

To the Final Frontier

At this point, we wanted to ask Americans how they’d want to tour space regardless of what space tourism companies have on offer today.

Here are the types of space tourism Americans find the most appealing:

• Trip to the Moon: 59%
• Orbital tourism (e.g., offered by SpaceX): 50%
• Trip to Mars: 28%
• Suborbital trip (e.g., offered by Blue Origin): 24%
• Trip to another planet: 17%

Interestingly, most want to walk on the moon just like Neil Armstrong did back in 1969, followed by half of Americans who want to orbit Earth.

Next, we asked the respondents how long they’d like to stay in space:

• A few days: 41%
• A few hours: 26%
• A few weeks: 16%
• A few months: 8%
• A few years: 5%
• A few minutes: 4%

Last but not least, we asked what’s the most Americans would pay for a ticket to space. Below are the results:

• $2,000–$5,000: 20%
• $5,000–$10,000: 20%
• $10,000–$50,000: 17%
• $1,000–$2,000: 16%
• $500–$1,000: 12%
• $50,000–$100,000: 7%
• $100–$500: 5%
• $100,000+: 4%

Thus, only 4% of Americans would splurge $100,000+ for a ride to space. 

It’s also noteworthy that the respondents who stated their income last year was $100,000 and greater were much more likely than others to say they’d pay $100,000+ for a ticket: 20% vs. 4%.

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Reasons Some Would Pass On a Space Trip

Not everyone wants to climb up a rocket and experience a massive kick in the back as you rip through the layers of the atmosphere under several million pounds of thrust—all while the rocket is rattling like a skyscraper in an earthquake. Mr. Howard Wolowitz can attest to that.

As a result, 36% of Americans aren’t interested in space tourism, and not just because of the price. Here are the top five reasons why some prefer to stay put:

• It’s not safe yet: 55%
• It’s too scary: 48%
• It’s bad for the environment: 27%
• I’m afraid it’ll negatively affect my physical, emotional, or psychological health: 23%
• My age, health, or physical fitness wouldn’t agree with it: 21%

So, most of those who don’t want to fly to space are unsure about the safety aspect or fear things might go south. As many as 27% are concerned about the carbon footprint. While the new rockets are more energy-efficient than older ones, they still burn tons of fuel.

Some people are also afraid of the health-related consequences. At this stage, we dug into the data and saw that Baby Boomers (aged 55 or older) are more likely than others to state a space trip would harm their health: 42% vs. 21%.

Space Travel: What Americans Fear the Most

Lastly, we wanted to throw under the microscope Americans’ fears associated with space travel and see what they believe are the scariest parts of taking a trip to space.

Below are the results:

• Spacecraft exploding: 58%
• Inability to return to Earth (e.g., due to technical issues): 52%
• Lack of medical experts, surgical facilities, or other tools necessary for critical health care: 31%
• Prolonged isolation and confinement: 30%
• Gravity (or lack thereof): 29%
• Physical discomfort post-flight (e.g., dizziness, difficulty standing): 16%
• Bumpy landing on the way back: 11%
• Cosmic radiation: 4%

As evident from the above responses, “spacecraft exploding” and “inability to return to Earth” took the cake, by a wide margin. That’s not all that surprising given how many times we’ve seen spaceships explode in movies.

What we did find striking was that a full 29% of respondents are afraid of zero gravity. 

Isn’t it a dream of many to experience weightlessness? 

Perhaps, 29% of survey takers are privy to its adverse side-effects that include muscle atrophy, deterioration of the skeleton, and excess flatulence, among others.

Stacking It All Up

Space travel in 2022 is beyond reach for most people.

Yet, as more companies jump on the bandwagon, the ticket costs will eventually come down thanks to the competition and refinements that will follow.

Air travel too was once exclusive and luxurious—back in the 1940s, the average flight from L.A. to Boston cost $4,539.24 per person in today’s money. Now, flying is accessible to most of us. So, let’s hope space tourism will follow suit.

Lastly, before we’re over and out, here’s a quick summary of the study’s key findings:

• Over half of Americans believe space tourism will become affordable for the general public within the next 25 years.
• Six out of 10 Americans (64%) want to travel to space. Yet, that number jumps to a whopping 82% for those who engage in adventurous activities (e.g., skydiving) and to 80% for Gen Zers.
• The remaining 36% of people in the USA who want to stay put most fear: spacecraft exploding (58%), inability to return to Earth (52%), and lack of medical experts, surgical facilities, or other tools necessary for critical health care (31%).
• The most common reasons to go to space are to “see Earth from space” (75%), followed by “look out into the universe” (55%), and “come to know what life in space is like” (41%).
• Nearly 60% of people in the US would want to go to the Moon and 28% would like to visit Mars.
• Yet, only 4% of Americans would splurge $100,000+ for a ride to space.

Methodology

We conducted an online survey of 1,079 US respondents via a bespoke online polling tool in November 2021. Its findings can be extrapolated to the general US population considering the survey’s age and gender makeup.

This study was created through multiple steps of research, crowdsourcing, and surveying. All survey participants’ responses were reviewed by data scientists for quality control. ​​The survey had an attention-check question.

Fair Use Statement

Did our findings help you learn more about civilian space tourism? If you believe your audience will be interested in this information, feel free to share it. Just remember to mention the source and link back to this page.

• Chang K., “For Apollo 11 He Wasn’t on the Moon. But His Coffee Was Warm”
• Cole S., “Space Tourism: Prospects, Positioning, and Planning”
• Garcia M., “What Flights Used to Cost in the ‘Golden Age’ of Air Travel”
• Marais E., “Space Tourism: Rockets Emit 100 Times More Co₂ per Passenger than Flights – Imagine a Whole Industry”
• Manzey D., Kanas N., “Basic Issues of Human Adaptation to Space Flight”
• Sheetz M., “The Space Industry Will Be Worth Nearly $3 Trillion in 30 Years, Bank of America Predicts”
• Sheetz M., “Branson Is Trailing Bezos in Space Tourism, While Musk’s SpaceX Competes in a League of Its Own”
• Vakoch D., “Psychology of Space Exploration: Contemporary Research in Historical Perspective”

As a Digital PR specialist and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), Max has 5+ years of writing experience. Over the course of his career, Max’s work has garnered significant attention, with features in numerous prominent publications such as The New York Times, Forbes, Inc., Business Insider, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, BBC, TechRepublic, Glassdoor, and G2.

How Much Will It Cost To Be a Space Tourist?

I n October 2021, actor William Shatner explored the final frontier as the oldest person to ever cross the Karman line — the commonly accepted divide between the Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.

Check Out: I’m a Luxury Travel Agent — 10 Destinations My Wealthy Clients Are Booking for 2024

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Shatner traveled on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin spacecraft, New Shepard, as the billionaire’s guest , per People . Other celebrities, including Michael Strahan, have also traveled on the New Shepard. Flights on the prestigious rocket range from free — if you are invited by Bezos — up to $28 million, according to Observer .

A flight on Virgin Galactic’s suborbital rocket plane costs $450,000, but it only reaches the edge of space, to an altitude of more than 50 miles. The New Shepard, on the other hand, reaches an altitude of 66 miles.

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Is Space Tourism Actually Going To Happen?

This decade has seen more civilians and non-astronauts venture into space than ever before. Yet, the space tourism industry hasn’t quite taken off as many expected.

In the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, Spaceport America sits largely unused. The commercial spaceport cost $218.5 million in public money, funded partly by sales tax from local businesses. The venture was expected to bring in $550 million in economic activity for Sierra County and create roughly 4,300 jobs, The New York Times reported.

Yet, following the first flight carrying people in May 2021, the project has only generated roughly 800 jobs and brought in an extra $138 million to the county.

Learn More: 11 Expensive Vacation Destinations That Will Be Cheaper in 2024

Virgin Galactic Slows Operations for Spaceport America

Virgin Galactic, the spaceport’s primary tenant, made six launches this year but recently announced it would suspend flights in mid-2024 following layoffs that saw 185 employees let go.

The cutbacks were designed to enable Virgin Galactic to shift focus to a new class of suborbital space planes, putting launches from Spaceport America on the back burner temporarily.

Richard Branson — founder of the Virgin Group, parent company of Virgin Galactic — said the private space company holds about $1 billion in capital, enough to carry the company through 2026. “We don’t have the deepest pockets,” he told The Financial Times .

If space tourism is to become accessible, turning Spaceport America into the attraction the people of Truth or Consequences had hoped it could be, prices will have to drop. Meanwhile, the price of the cheapest ticket, unless you’re friends with a billionaire, is more than the median home price in the U.S., which is $411,887, according to Redfin.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : How Much Will It Cost To Be a Space Tourist?

2044 solar eclipse path: See where in US totality hits in next eclipse

Compared to this year's eclipse, with a path of totality that will cross over 13 states, the 2044 total solar eclipse won't have as quite as broad of a reach. here's what to know:.

Millions of Americans are by now eagerly awaiting the next total solar eclipse , which is only hours away from passing over a large swath of the continent .

But when the celestial event comes and goes, the awe-inspiring impression it leaves on skygazers may leave them with one question: "When can we see that again?"

Unfortunately, we'll have to wait awhile – this sort of spectacular astral phenomenon doesn't happen very often . Here's what we know about the next total solar eclipse that will cross over the contiguous U.S.

Solar eclipse glasses: What to know about glasses, safe viewing before the solar eclipse

When will the next total solar eclipse happen in the U.S?

Only seven years have passed since Americans had the opportunity to view a total solar eclipse, a relatively rare celestial event in which the moon appears to us here on Earth to completely block the sun.

The resulting fleeting moments of darkness can last for minutes or just mere seconds and is known as " totality ," whereby the sun's outermost layer known as the corona makes a rare appearance.

Today's total solar eclipse , the first in North America since 2017, will travel over portions of northern Mexico, thousands of miles of the U.S. and the maritime provinces of Canada, according to NASA . According to astronomers, this eclipse will be brighter, will last longer and will be visible to more people than the last one in North America.

It's also the last one for 20 years in the United States.

After Monday, the next total solar eclipse viewable from the lower 48 states will be on Aug. 23, 2044.

2044 total solar eclipse path of totality

Compared to this year's eclipse, with a path of totality that will cross over 13 states, the 2044 total solar eclipse won't have as quite as broad of a reach .

The Planetary Society, a nonprofit involved in research, public outreach and political space advocacy, says that during the 2044 eclipse, the path of totality will only touch three states.

The eclipse will begin in Greenland, sweep through Canada and end around sunset in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

It's not too early to start thinking about where you want to witness it. According to whenisthenexteclipse.com , Americans may want to make sure their passports up to date.

The place to be will likely be Banff National Park in Alberta and Jasper National Park , with Calgary and Edmonton also within the path of totality.

What to know about the 2033 eclipse in Alaska

Outside of the "lower 48," Alaska is set to experience a total solar eclipse much sooner.

On March 30, 2033, a total solar eclipse will occur in Russia and cross over Alaska, according to nationaleclipse.com . The maximum duration of totality for this eclipse will be 2 minutes and 37 seconds.

Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge and Gabe Hauari

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

Solar eclipse 2024: Photos from the path of totality and elsewhere in the U.S.

Images show the Great American Eclipse, seen by tens of millions of people in parts of Mexico, 15 U.S. states and eastern Canada for the first time since 2017.

Millions gathered across North America on Monday to bask in the glory of the Great American Eclipse — the moment when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun. 

The path of totality measures more than 100 miles wide and will first be visible on Mexico’s Pacific coast before moving northeast through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois and upward toward New York, New Hampshire and Maine, then on to Canada.

Total solar eclipse 2024 highlights: Live coverage, videos and more

During the cosmic spectacle, the moon’s movements will temporarily block the sun’s light, creating minutes of darkness, and will make the sun's outer atmosphere, or the corona, visible as a glowing halo.

Here are moments of the celestial activities across the country:

Breaking News Reporter

Elise Wrabetz is a Senior Photo Editor for NBC News digital

Chelsea Stahl is the art director for NBC News Digital

Money latest: At what age do you reach peak earnings?

People are 47 before they reach peak earnings, data for 2023 shows - a huge increase from five years ago. Read about this and the rest of today's consumer and personal finance news in the Money blog, and leave a comment in the form below.

Friday 12 April 2024 06:52, UK

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• Prescription costs are rising - here's how to beat the hike
• At what age do you reach peak earnings?
• Could I build a home gym for less than my gym membership?
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Ask a question or make a comment

It can be hard to balance getting nutritious foods that make you feel good without emptying your wallet.

In this series every Friday, we're trying to find the cheapest ways to identify the healthiest options in the supermarket.

We've asked  Sunna Van Kampen,  founder of  Tonic Health ,  who went viral on social media for reviewing supermarket products in the search of healthier choices, for his input. 

The series does not aim to identify the outright healthiest option, rather how to get better nutritional value for as little money as possible.

This time we're looking at yogurt - specifically the differences between some of the most popular: authentic Greek and Greek-style. 

"You have to watch out for Greek-style yoghurt masquerading as the authentic variety," Sunna says. 

Typical Greek-style yoghurt has around 4.6g of sugar per 100g, he says.

But swivel your cart towards the authentic Greek yoghurt, and you'll find only 3.3g per 100g.

"That's an impressive 28% reduction in sugar content, or a teaspoon of sugar a day if you have a 300g portion." 

To be clear - this isn't added sugar, this is the naturally-occurring kind from lactose in the milk.

Protein is the building block of our bodies, and something around 66% of Brits don't get enough of.

"Authentic Greek yoghurt boasts around double the protein content of its Greek-style cousins - with branded versions having 9g per 100g compared to just 3.7g per 100g," Sunna says. 

This means in a typical 300g bowl, you are getting 27g of protein versus only 11.1g in Greek-style. 

Here's the bottom line - it is more expensive, but the investment is worth it, Sunna says. 

• Greek-style yoghurt – supermarket own label – 22p per 100g
• Authentic Greek yoghurt - supermarket own label – 46p per 100g
• Authentic Greek yoghurt – branded versions – 50-58p per 100g

"Okay, so we are talking double the price, but you get what you pay for with double the protein," Sunna says.

Think of it this way - every 300g bowl is an extra 72p per day for nearly 16g of extra protein and nearly 30% less sugar. 

"Far cheaper than what you'd pay for a protein bar with the same amount of protein," Sunna notes. 

The key here: value isn't exclusive to the price tag - and investing in your health is more important than ever. 

So, next time you're navigating the dairy aisle, remember that not all yoghurts are created equal - opting for authentic Greek yoghurt can be a small but effective step towards a healthier diet without breaking the bank.

The nutritionist's view - from  Dr Laura Brown , senior lecturer in nutrition, food, and health sciences at Teesside University...

Yes, absolutely for a source of protein. 

Yogurt is better than protein bars and powders that are full of protein, as they come along with a long list of other potentially artificial ingredients that are not necessary. 

If we are looking at yoghurts from a health perspective, then you're definitely wanting to look for this style - natural, Greek, low sugar or sugar free but not fat-free! 

Families should avoid investing in sugar-laden yoghurts that do not serve any nutritional purposes. 

If someone is eating yoghurt specifically as a source of protein, then there are much better sources like beans and lentils which are affordable and will provide other additional benefits including fibre. 

The price of a prescription is set to to rise from £9.65 to £9.90 in England in May - but there are ways you can save money on your medicines.

Fee-free options remain in place for some, such as those who are pregnant, have certain disabilities, students or the elderly.

But if you're not exempt, there are still some means of cutting the costs of treatments.

Prepayment certificates

Prescription prepayment certificates (PPC) cover NHS prescriptions over a given time period, no matter how many medicines you need.

There are two options: A three-month PPC (£32.05 from May), which will start to save you money if you buy four or more prescriptions in that period, or a 12-month PPC (£114.50), which pays off if you buy 12 or more in a year.

Ask for a larger prescription

Doctors may agree to prescribe a longer course of medicine - such as two months' worth instead of one, halving the cost.

Just ask the question - they might say yes, especially if there's no danger of overuse.

Menopause medication

The NHS offers a particular PPC for hormone replacement therapy.

It lasts for 12 months and costs £19.30, rising to £19.80 from 1 May.

Women can use the PCC as many times as they need within the year.

You might not need a prescription

For some ailments, there are over-the-counter options sold cheaper than their prescribed alternative. You can ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice.

People are 47 before they reach peak earnings, data for 2023 shows - a huge increase from five years ago.

Office for National Statistics figures show the age for the highest average wage had risen from 38 in 2013 and 40 in 2018.

In 2023, this highest average wage (gross median hourly earnings, including overtime) was £18.78 per hour.

The ONS said: "While the age at which earnings peak has changed, the overall trends in earnings throughout a person’s working career have remained very similar. 

"Young people earn the lowest hourly wage, people aged between 30 and 50 earn the most and median hourly earnings fall from around age 50 until retirement.

"Whilst median earnings fall between age 50 and retirement, this does not mean that individuals' pay will decrease. 

"Higher earners may retire early, reducing the median wage of those remaining in employment, and people may change roles and hours worked."

Yesterday we reported on ONS data showing the age at which people reach life milestones - with all of them being pushed later in life except one...

Fake flights and caravans are the two most common items being sold by fraudsters in relation to travel, Lloyds Bank's research has found.

As Britons head online to book deals for the upcoming bank holidays and summer, they have been urged to "remain vigilant", with the average holiday scam victim being conned out of £765.

Amid rising flight costs post-COVID, people have been flocking to social media and other lesser-known websites to secure cheaper deals.

A food delivery company claims to have created an  "unshakeable bag" to avoid spillage in transit.

Bolt, which owns the Bolt Food delivery platform, said its design is based on gyroscope technology and will keep food stable "during the most abrupt movements".

In a post to its website, the firm said it would make the design available to its competitors as it is "too powerful to be owned by any one company".

"We believe everyone should enjoy a perfect meal, regardless of which app they order it from," it said.

Assaulting a shopworker is to be made a separate criminal offence after a government U-turn following pressure from campaigners.

The government previously said "more legislative change" was not needed to tackle the "intolerable violence and abuse" faced by shopworkers, arguing it did not think it was "required or will be most effective".

But Rishi Sunak is now set to announce his government will be amending the Criminal Justice Bill to bring in the new offence.

The drugmaker was on its knees when Sir Pascal Soriot took over in 2012. 

But under his leadership it now does just about everything the UK wants from a business - creating high value-added jobs and developing products that improve people's lives.

The FTSE 100's performance has lagged that of many of its peers, both in the United States and Europe, more or less since the Brexit vote in 2016.

That poor performance has reflected the poor valuation of many UK-listed companies - resulting in numerous foreign takeovers of UK businesses in recent months and years.

It has also led to a scarcity in the number of companies floating on the London Stock Exchange, most notably the  Cambridge-based chip designer ARM Holdings , which last year opted to list in the US instead.

The situation has alarmed the government, which has announced a number of reforms  aimed at raising the UK's attractiveness .

An imminent shareholder vote on Sir Pascal's pay makes a particularly interesting test case because few would dispute that he has been the most outstanding FTSE 100 chief executive of his generation.

This rise could take his potential earnings to £18.5m this year - which critics say is excessive.

Read my full piece here ...

England's average house price has risen by £103,000 over the last decade, while the average annual wage has risen by £7,734.

But some areas have seen homeownership affordability decline more than others... 

The London borough of Barking and Dagenham has seen the most significant fall, according to moving platform Getamover. 

The platform found the area has seen house prices more than double to £380,000 in the last 10 years - but wages have only risen by £2,182. 

Hillingdon in West London took the second spot, with the average property shooting up by £230,000 to £495,000, while the average income increased by just £143. 

While London remains the most unaffordable region, the East Midlands has also seen a notable fall. 

Oadby and Wigston in Leicestershire ranked fifth in the table, with the average house price increasing by £129,000 and the median annual income growing by £2,644.   

Gedling ranks sixth among the areas of England where the affordability of buying a home has declined most. 

The Nottinghamshire region has seen house prices soar by 84.8% to £231,000, while the average income has risen by just 13.11% to £33,454. 

You can see how other areas fared in the table below...

Rishi Sunak's post-Brexit rules for foreign workers are getting tough press in Italy this week - with claims they could mark the end of Italian waiters in London.

April saw the minimum salary requirement for a skilled worker visa increase from £26,200 to £38,700 - a near 50% rise as the government tries to reduce immigration.

Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica published an article on its site headlined "Italians in London, the long goodbye" after the new rule was brought in this month.

There were an estimated 342,000 Italians living in the UK in 2021, according to the latest Office for National Statistics census data.

La Repubblica said the new rule change would lead to the "end of the story" of Italy's "ancient roots" in the capital, which was founded by the Romans in 43 AD.

Separately, Italian journalist Antonio Polito wrote in the Corriere della Sera newspaper that the new salary for skilled workers was "an amount that no young novice can realistically earn".

"Thus London gives up one of its great assets, the fact of being an offshore and cosmopolitan city," he said.

Mr Sunak's post-Brexit rule change has worried hospitality bosses who are still struggling to get to grips with a post-COVID reality and rising costs. 

Conor Sheridan, founder of Nory and Mad Egg restaurant chain, previously told the Money blog that roughly 14% of his 15,000 UK employee base were on working visas that could be affected.

Trade body UKHospitality also said the changes would "further shrink the talent pool that the entire economy will be recruiting from".

As the migration law came in, Home Secretary James Cleverly said it was "time to turn off the taps and end the flow of cheap workers from abroad".

"We are refocusing our immigration system to prioritise the brightest and best who have the skills our economy needs, while reducing overall numbers," he said.

Several of the UK's biggest supermarkets closed their gender pay gap in the last year - while Morrisons saw the biggest rise, figures show.

Ocado and Lidl reduced their gap by the largest amounts in 2023-24 compared to the previous year, while Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Co-op, Iceland and Waitrose owner John Lewis also saw a reduction.

The data comes from the government's gender pay gap service and states the difference in hourly rates of pay. 

In contrast to other big-name brands, Morrisons saw its mean pay gap widen to 12.5% from 7.6%. M&S also saw a slight increase from 12.5% to 12.6%.

The mean figure gives the best overall view of the gender pay gap but includes extreme values which could skew the average.

Of the 11 biggest UK supermarkets, Co-op has the largest pay gap with 13.2%, followed by M&S and Morrisons.

An M&S spokesperson said: "We're committed to driving equal opportunities and making M&S a great place to work for women. Encouragingly our median pay gap has decreased, and women now make up more than 50% of our UK store management population, but we know there is more to do. 

"We're making progress with the launch of new initiatives, talent programmes, and policies, including our flexible working offer – Worklife, a Job Share Finder, and our industry-leading family leave offer."

A spokesperson for Co-op said: "We are committed to treating our colleague member owners fairly, and this includes driving equitable outcomes for female colleagues. We've seen a significant reduction in our gender pay gap since we started to report data in 2017, and this year's data shows further progress towards closing it.

"It's important to reiterate that we don't pay people differently based on their gender at Co-op. The gender pay gap is caused by us having fewer females in leadership role, where salaries are higher.

"Our focus on improving representation remains, as we know this is one of the key drivers causing the gender pay gap. Today, 40% of our leadership population are female - this is not enough, which is why we’ve launched a series of development programmes and have a coaching and mentoring offer to support women with career progression.

"We know there’s still much to do in this space and will hold ourselves to account and continue to strive for gender equality."

Morrisons has also been contacted for comment.

Every Thursday we look at a different savings option, explain the pros and cons, and reveal the best deals on the market (see table below for that).  This week we're talking about the best notice accounts. Savings Champion founder Anna Bowes  says this...

As with the rest of the savings market, the top notice account rates have started to fall. However, there are stalwarts like the Investec 90-day notice account that are holding steady and as a result offering savers an opportunity to earn a little more, while not having to tie up their cash for too long.

A relatively unused aspect of the savings market, notice accounts offer a bit of a halfway house, with the best rates available generally paying more than the top easy access rates, but will more flexibility of access than a fixed term bond.

Just as it sounds, these savings accounts require you to give notice in order to access your money without a penalty. The usual notice period ranges from 30 to 120 days, although there are some accounts on the market that require six months or even a year's notice.

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire , business reporter

Another record month for Heathrow. Last month was the busiest ever March for the UK's biggest airport, the second record-breaking month in a row. 

It was also the busiest Easter weekend as Good Friday became the busiest ever direct departure day, when 118,000 people began their journey at the airport. 

It shows, despite cost of living pressures, lots of Britons were going on holiday.

More good news for Heathrow came earlier this week as planned strike action by 600 border force officers was called off to allow for negotiations in its dispute over working patterns. 

Oil prices are still high, hanging around $90. A barrel of Brent crude oil, the benchmark for oil prices, costs $90.66. The last time prices were this high was in the wake of the 7 October attacks and fears of conflict spreading throughout the Middle East. 

On the currency front, £1 buys $1.2538 and €1.1678.

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Solar eclipse maps show 2024 totality path, peak times and how much of the eclipse people could see across the U.S.

By Aliza Chasan

Updated on: April 9, 2024 / 5:00 AM EDT / CBS News

A total solar eclipse  crossed North America Monday with parts of 15 U.S. states within the path of totality. Maps show  where and when astronomy fans could see the big event  as skies darkened in the middle of the day Monday, April 8.

The total eclipse first appeared along Mexico's Pacific Coast at around 11:07 a.m. PDT, then traveled across a swath of the U.S., from Texas to Maine, and into Canada.

About 31.6 million people live in the path of totality , the area where the moon fully blocked out the sun , according to NASA. The path ranged between 108 and 122 miles wide. An additional 150 million people live within 200 miles of the path of totality.

Solar eclipse path of totality map for 2024

The total solar eclipse started over the Pacific Ocean, and the first location in continental North America that experienced totality was Mexico's Pacific Coast, around 11:07 a.m. PDT, according to NASA. From there, the path continued into Texas, crossing more than a dozen states before the eclipse enters Canada in southern Ontario. The eclipse exited continental North America at around 5:16 p.m. NDT from Newfoundland, Canada.

The path of totality included portions of the following states:

• Pennsylvania
• New Hampshire

Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan also experienced the total solar eclipse.

Several major cities across the U.S. were included in the eclipse's path of totality, while many others saw a partial eclipse. These were some of the best major cities for eclipse viewing — though the weather was a factor :

• San Antonio, Texas (partially under the path)
• Austin, Texas
• Waco, Texas
• Dallas, Texas
• Little Rock, Arkansas
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Dayton, Ohio
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Buffalo, New York
• Rochester, New York
• Syracuse, New York
• Burlington, Vermont

Map of when the solar eclipse reached totality across its path

The eclipse began in the U.S. as a partial eclipse beginning at 12:06 p.m. CDT near Eagle Pass, Texas, before progressing to totality by about 1:27 p.m. CDT and then moving along its path to the northeast over the following few hours.

NASA shared times for several cities in the path of totality across the U.S. People could have also  checked their ZIP code on NASA's map  to see when the eclipse was to reach them if they were on, or near, the path of totality — or if they saw a partial eclipse instead.

How much of the eclipse did people see if they live outside the totality path?

While the April 8 eclipse covered a wide swath of the U.S., outside the path of totality observers may have spotted a partial eclipse, where the moon covers some, but not all, of the sun, according to NASA. The closer they were to the path of totality, the larger the portion of the sun that was hidden.

NASA allowed viewers to input a ZIP code and see how much of the sun was to be covered in their locations.

Could there be cloud cover be during the solar eclipse?

Some areas along the path of totality had a higher likelihood of cloud cover that could interfere with viewing the eclipse. Here is a map showing the historical trends in cloud cover this time of year. 

You could have checked the latest forecast for your location with our partners at The Weather Channel .

Where did the solar eclipse reach totality for the longest?

Eclipse viewers near Torreón, Mexico, got to experience totality for the longest. Totality there lasted 4 minutes, 28 seconds, according to NASA. 

Most places along the centerline of the path of totality saw a totality duration of between 3.5 and 4 minutes, according to NASA. Some places in the U.S. came close to the maximum; Kerrville, Texas, had a totality duration of 4 minutes, 24 seconds.

What is the path of totality for the 2044 solar eclipse?

The next total solar eclipse that will be visible from the contiguous U.S. will be on Aug. 23, 2044.

Astronomy fans in the U.S. will have far fewer opportunities to see the 2044 eclipse they had on April 8. NASA has not yet made maps available for the 2044 eclipse but, according to The Planetary Society , the path of totality will only touch three states.

The 2024 eclipse will start in Greenland, pass over Canada and end as the sun sets in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, according to the Planetary Society.

Aliza Chasan is a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics.

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