Space tourism future 2023 involves traveling to space for recreational enjoyment. It encompasses various forms, including orbital, suborbital, and lunar tourism. Travelers are drawn to space by the prospect of seeing Earth from above, experiencing weightlessness, feeling incredible speeds, and seeking unique adventures. Additionally, some are motivated by the opportunity to contribute to scientific advancements.
Space tourism future began in April 2001 when American businessman and engineer Dennis Tito became the first person to travel to space as a tourist, flying aboard the Soyuz-TM32 spacecraft.
Between 2001 and 2009, seven tourists took part in eight spaceflights to the International Space Station aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft, facilitated by American company Space Adventures in collaboration with Ros cosmos and RSC Energia. In September 2006, Iranian- American businesswoman Anousheh Ansari became the first female space tourist.
The cost for these trips was publicly reported to be between $20 and $25 million. Some tourists also signed contracts to perform specific research activities while in space. By 2007, space tourism was considered one of the pioneering markets for commercial spaceflight.
Russia suspended orbital space tourism in 2010 due to an increase in the International Space Station’s crew size, which required seats that were previously available for paying tourists. Although plans to resume orbital tourist flights were scheduled for 2015, they were postponed indefinitely. Orbital tourism in Russia resumed with the launch of Soyuz MS-20 in 2021.
Efforts are ongoing to develop suborbital space tourism vehicles, with aerospace companies such as Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic leading the way. Additionally, in 2018, SpaceX announced plans to send tourists, including Yusaku Maekawa, on a free-return trajectory around the Moon using their Starship spacecraft.
Precursors to space tourism
The Soviet space program expanded the pool of cosmonauts through the InterCosmos program, which included candidates from Warsaw Pact countries (such as Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania), as well as from Soviet allies (like Cuba, Mongolia, and Vietnam) and non-aligned nations (including India, Syria, and Afghanistan). While most of these international cosmonauts received comprehensive training and were treated as equals, their missions typically involved shorter durations compared to those of Soviet cosmonauts. The European Space Agency (ESA) also benefited from this program. The US Space Shuttle program featured payload specialist positions, typically occupied by individuals representing companies or institutions responsible for specific payloads on a mission. Unlike professional NASA astronauts, these payload specialists did not receive the same level of training and were not NASA employees. In 1983, Ulf Merbold from the European Space Agency (ESA) and Byron Lichtenberg from MIT (an engineer and Air Force fighter pilot) became the first payload specialists to fly on the Space Shuttle, participating in mission STS-9.
Space Tourism Future examine the challenges and potential for including nonprofessional astronauts in space missions, the role of government in supporting the emerging space tourism industry, the utilization of the Shuttle and Space Station for tourism purposes, safety and training standards for space tourists, and the potential commercial market for space tourism.
In April 1999, the Russian space agency announced that 51-year-old British billionaire Peter Llewellyn would be sent to the aging Mir space station in exchange for a payment of $100 million. However, Llewellyn denied agreeing to this amount, and his refusal to make the payment led to the cancellation of his flight a month later.
Sub-orbital space tourism
Successful projects
In October 2004, Scaled Composites won the $10 million X Prize with SpaceShipOne, becoming the first private company to reach and exceed an altitude of 100 km (62 mi) twice within two weeks. This altitude surpasses the Kármán Line, the widely accepted boundary of space. The first flight, conducted by Michael Melvill in June 2004, reached 100 km (62 mi), making him the first commercial astronaut. The prize-winning flight, piloted by Brian Binnie, achieved an altitude of 112.0 km (69.6 mi), setting a new record by surpassing the X-15’s mark. Although SpaceShipOne was designed to accommodate three passengers, no space tourists were on these flights; instead, additional weight was added to compensate for the absence of passengers.
Space Tourism Future blue Origin developed the New Shepard reusable suborbital launch system specifically for short-duration space tourism. The system is designed to carry up to six passengers on brief trips to space. The New Shepard capsule sits atop an 18-meter (59-foot) rocket. On July 20, 2021, the rocket successfully launched with four passengers aboard, reaching an altitude of 107 km (66 mi).
Canceled projects
Orbital space tourism
As of 2021, Space Adventures and SpaceX are the only companies that have arranged tourism flights to Earth’s orbit. Space Adventures, based in Virginia, has partnered with Russia to use Soyuz spacecraft for sending ultra-wealthy individuals to the International Space Station. Notable tourists include entrepreneur and space investor Anousheh Ansari and Cirque du Soleil co-founder Guy Laliberté. These missions were priced at approximately $20 million each. The space tourism industry could be on the brink of a major transformation if SpaceX and Boeing successfully implement their plans to offer orbital travel to tourists.
Successful projects
By the late 1990s, MirCorp, the private company managing the Mir space station, began seeking space tourists to help cover some of the station’s maintenance costs. Dennis Tito, an American businessman and former JPL scientist, was their first candidate. However, when the decision was made to de-orbit Mir, Tito arranged to switch his trip to the International Space Station (ISS) through a deal between MirCorp and the US-based Space Adventures, Ltd. Tito spent seven days at the ISS in April–May 2001, becoming the world’s first “fee-paying” space tourist. He reportedly paid $20 million for the trip.
Since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, Soyuz became the sole means of accessing the ISS, leading to a suspension of space tourism. However, on June 7, 2019, NASA announced a plan to reopen the ISS to space tourism.
On September 16, 2021, the Inspiration4 mission lau
nched from Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The crew spent nearly three days in orbit on the Crew Dragon Resilience, marking the first orbital space mission with an entirely civilian crew.
Ongoing projects
Axiom Space utilizes Crew Dragon flights contracted with SpaceX to transport crews to the International Space Station. Mission 1 took place in April 2022, Mission 2 in May 2023, and Mission 3 in January 2024. A fourth mission is scheduled for October 2024. Through these missions, NASA aims to foster a commercial market for human spaceflight, which will help share costs for future commercial space stations.
In February 2022, Jared Isaacman, the commander and financier of the Inspiration4 mission, announced the Polaris Program, which consists of three planned missions. The inaugural mission, Polaris Dawn, will launch four private astronauts aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft into Earth orbit. This mission aims to achieve a record altitude beyond the current Earth orbit record of 1,373 kilometers set by Gemini XI and will be a free-flyer mission without any rendezvous maneuvers. Polaris Dawn also seeks to conduct the first private extravehicular activity (EVA). The final mission of the Polaris Program is slated to be the first crewed flight of the in-development Starship launch system.
Canceled projects
Space Adventures and SpaceX had plans to send up to four tourists to low Earth orbit for a few days, targeting late 2021 or early 2022. However, in October 2021, Space Adventures announced that the mission contract had expired, although they left the door open for potential future collaborations with SpaceX.
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Galactic Suite Design → Galactic Suite Innovations
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Orbital Technologies Commercial Space Station → Orbital Technologies Space Hub
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Space Industries Incorporated → Space Industries Ventures
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Space Islands → Celestial Islands
Legality
Under the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, the responsibility for damages caused by a space launch is determined by the nationality of the launch operator and the location of the launch site.
Following the discovery of valuable resources on the Moon, private companies began developing methods to extract them. According to Article II of the Outer Space Treaty, “outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.” Nonetheless, countries are entitled to freely explore the Moon, and any resources collected are considered the property of the country that retrieves them.
United States
In December 2021, the FAA announced that beginning in 2022, it would officially recognize individuals who travel to space on its website. “Any person who is on an FAA-licensed or permitted launch and reaches 50 statute miles above the Earth’s surface will be listed on the site.” This announcement marked the end of the Commercial Space Astronaut Wings program, which had awarded commercial astronaut wings to individuals who traveled above 50 miles (80 kilometers) in altitude on private spacecraft since 2004.
Legal issues and challenges
As sub-orbital flights become more prevalent, there are rising concerns that the current international framework may not adequately address the complex issues associated with space tourism. These concerns encompass commercial liability, insurance, consumer protection, passenger safety, environmental impact, and emergency response.
Attitudes towards space tourism
A 2018 survey from the Pew Research Center identifies the top three reasons customers are motivated to purchase a flight into space as follows:
- To experience a one-of-a-kind adventure
- To view Earth from space
- To gain a deeper understanding of the world
The Pew study also revealed that only 43% of Americans would be definitely or probably interested in traveling to space. NASA astronaut Megan McArthur has a message for space tourists: spaceflight is both uncomfortable and risky, and requires considerable determination.A web-based survey indicated that over 70% of respondents preferred to spend two weeks or less in space. Additionally, 88% expressed a desire to participate in a spacewalk, with 14% willing to pay a 50% premium for the experience. Furthermore, 21% of respondents showed interest in staying at a hotel or space station.
On October 14, 2021, Prince William suggested that entrepreneurs should prioritize addressing environmental issues on Earth rather than pursuing space tourism. He also expressed concern about the increasing “climate anxiety” among younger generations.
Environmental effects
A 2010 study published in *Geophysical Research Letters* raised concerns that the expanding commercial spaceflight industry might contribute to global warming. Funded by NASA and The Aerospace Corporation, the study modeled the impact of 1,000 suborbital hybrid rocket launches from a single location, estimating that this would release 600 tonnes of black carbon into the stratosphere. The researchers found that the resulting layer of soot remained relatively localized, with only 20% of the carbon dispersing into the southern hemisphere, creating a notable hemispherical asymmetry. This imbalance could lead to a temperature decrease of about 0.4°C (0.72°F) in the tropics and subtropics, while temperatures at the poles might increase by 0.2 to 1°C (0.36 to 1.80°F). The ozone layer would also be impacted, with a potential reduction of up to 1.7% in tropical ozone coverage and a gain of 5–6% in polar regions. The researchers emphasized that these findings should not be viewed as precise predictions for specific launch rates or rocket types, but rather as an indication of the atmospheric sensitivity to the large-scale disruptions that commercial space tourism could introduce.
A 2022 study assessed the impact of rocket launches, including the re-entry of reusable components and debris, on climate change and the ozone layer, using data from 2019 and projecting future scenarios based on the “billionaire space race.” The study concluded that routine space tourism could have significant environmental effects, highlighting the need for regulatory measures to address these potential impacts.
Education and advocacy
Several organizations have been established to support and promote the space tourism industry, including the Space Tourism Society, Space Future, and Hobby Space. Additionally, Antigalactic Space Travel Magazine is a bi-monthly educational publication that focuses on developments in space tourism and exploration, featuring updates on companies such as SpaceX, Orbital Sciences, and Virgin Galactic, as well as organizations like NASA.
Courses in space tourism are currently offered at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and Keio University in Japan. Additionally, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida introduced a global space tourism course in 2017.
Economic potential
A 2010 report from the Federal Aviation Administration, titled “The Economic Impact of Commercial Space Transportation on the U.S. Economy in 2009,” cites predictions by Furton, an aerospace and technology consulting firm, that space tourism could evolve into a billion-dollar market within 20 years. Between 2001 and 2009, eight tourists reached orbit. In 2011, Space Adventures estimated that this number could rise to 140 by 2020. However, with commercial crewed rockets only recently beginning to enter service, such numbers have not yet been realized.
A 2022 report by Research and Markets, titled “Global Space Tourism Market,” projects that the global space tourism industry will reach $8.67 billion by 2030. The report estimates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37.1% from 2022 to 2030.