Commercial Space

     Space tourism began a while ago in about the mid-1900s. There were the Apollo missions that started in the late 1960s, but space tourism wasn’t as widely popular then as it is today. It wasn’t until about the late 1900s that it really started to pick up. On October 30 1984, “President Ronald Reagan signs the Commercial Space Launch Act, which mandates that citizens who wish to launch a commercial rocket must be licensed” (Wyckoff, 2010). On April 28, 2001, “Dennis Tito becomes humanity's first paying space tourist, launching from Baikonur aboard a Russian Soyuz bound for International Space Station Alpha. MirCorp and Space Adventures helped organize the trip with Russian Aviation and Space Agency” (Space Tourism - The Story So Far , n.d.). Dennis Tito paid about $20 million in order to ride into space. In May 2002, Mark Shuttleworth from South Africa, who also paid about $20 million in order to take a trip to the International Space Station, returns from his trip. On June 21, 2004, “SpaceShipOne makes its first trip to space, becoming the first manned, privately owned craft to do so. It flies past 328,000 feet, which is the boundary of space” (Wyckoff, 2010). The SpaceShipOne won the Ansari X Prize in late 2004. The pilot of this space ship was Mike Melvill. This all began the start of space tourism. In September of 2004, “British entrepreneur Richard Branson announces that his Virgin company plans to launch commercial space flights over the next few years. It has sold more than 300 seats at $200,000 each” (Wyckoff, 2010).

     The problem with space tourism is that space travel is very expensive. Some people may have the couple hundred thousand to millions of dollars to pay for a flight to space, but many cannot so the potential passenger population is very limited. Many companies are trying to find ways to make it cheaper for people to go to space. Another reason why space travel is not cheap is because once the space ship cannot be reused. “The main problem with the Soyuz is that none of it is reusable; even the small passenger capsule that returns to Earth is not reused. Ironically, the Space Shuttle is the most expensive launch vehicle in the world (estimates range from US$350 to US$500 million per flight), even though it has reusable parts” (Sawaya, 2004). This is a lot of money that companies spend on flights, so it is going to be very costly for any passengers that wish to go on board a flight. Not only is space travel expensive, but safety is another concern. This is safety in regards to peoples’ lives and especially their health. “Major health issues for these explorers have included weakened bones and muscles, poor vision, nausea and insomnia. In addition to all these risks, untrained tourists will almost certainly face a wider array of “health problems that you haven't had to deal with in space before” (Courage, 2014) People who have been trained and have good health come back with some health problems, so those that are tourists and may not be in as good as health may experience worse things.

     Under the Commerical Space Launch Act of 1984, space travel started to be overseen and regulated. This act “authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) and, through delegations, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), to oversee, authorize, and regulate both launches and reentries of launch and reentry vehicles, and the operation of launch and reentry sites when carried out by U.S. citizens or within the United States” (Office of Commercial Space Transportation, 2015). Space tourism follows Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Chapter III, Parts 400 to 460. In December 2006, there was a final rule for “Human Space Flight Requirements for Crew and Space Flight Participants” (Federal Aviation Administration , 2015). This was a result of the Commercial Space Launch Amendment Act of 2004. This final rule gives regulations for training, qualifications of the crew, and what kind of consent needs to be given by the crew and participants. They need to be aware of any associated risks that come with space travel. I think that this is something that can be more regulated, but it is hard for the FAA to do that since they do not know a lot about it. Because the FAA doesn’t have a lot of regulations on space travel, they kind of are in a spot where they are waiting for things to happen so they can create new regulations. For now, “Congress requires that passengers be informed of the risks. In turn, passengers would have to provide written consent before takeoff that they understand and are aware of the risks” (Superville, 2005). This can be something that really turns people away from this because of the dangers and safety issues that can result and the little regulation that is enforced.

     I think that maybe at one point in time, space travel could be accessible to the general public, but there needs to be a lot of changes in the existing program. I think that the companies who do space travel need to find ways for tickets to be cheaper because right now, majority of people cannot afford to pay the couple hundred thousand to travel to space. Not only this, but they have yet to have one of these trips take off and complete a mission. I think that with time, the technology that will be used to allow these trips to be safer will be really expensive and they will not be able to afford to lower ticket prices. I think that because space ships are not reusable, this adds another really expensive cost to companies that also decreases the chances for ticket prices to drop. I think this is going to be a very small market if it does actually start to do space travel missions because there are a select few who have the money to spend and are willing to spend it on this. I think that there needs to be more research done that helps inform the interested population about the health issues so people know exactly what they are getting into. I think that some people are okay with signing the consent form, but more individuals may become interested if they have more knowledge about their safety and health and how they can be affected when traveling into space.

     Qualifications to work in the space tourism industry are that pilots “must have an FAA pilot certificate and be able to show that they know how to operate the vehicle. Student or sport pilot licenses would not qualify” (Superville, 2005). They also need to be trained to be able to make sure that their vehicle will not pose any harm to the public. The crew needs to have a medical certificate that has been issued within one year of when they are taking flight. They also have to be checked and approved that they are in a good mental and physical state that ensures they can make decisions and perform any roles that require safety. Other requirements for people who are not pilots is that they need a “bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics” (NASA, 2015). They also need to have at least three years of experience professionally or have at least 1,000 hours of pilot in command for a jet aircraft. They also need to pass a physical for long term astronauts that is given by NASA.

References

Courage, K. H. (2014, February 18). Can Space Tourism Companies Keep Their Customers Safe and Healthy? Retrieved from Scientific American : http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-space-tourism-companies-keep-customers-safe-healthy/

Federal Aviation Administration . (2015, December 15). Human Space Flight Requirements for Crew and Space Flight Participants; Final Rule. Retrieved from Federal Register : https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2006-12-15/pdf/E6-21193.pdf

NASA. (2015, December ). Astronaut Candidate Program . Retrieved from NASA : http://astronauts.nasa.gov/content/broch00.htm

Office of Commercial Space Transportation. (2015, October 26). Retrieved from Federal Aviation Administration : http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/regulations/

Sawaya, D. B. (2004, March). Space tourism: Is it safe? Retrieved from Observer: http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/archivestory.php/aid/1242/Space_tourism:_Is_it_safe_.html

Space Tourism - The Story So Far . (n.d.). Retrieved from Space Future: http://www.spacefuture.com/tourism/timeline.shtml

Superville, D. (2005, December 30). Gov't Issues Proposed Space Tourism Rules. Retrieved from Space: http://www.space.com/1904-gov-issues-proposed-space-tourism-rules.html

Wyckoff, W. B. (2010, October 21). The History Of Space Tourism. Retrieved from NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=110998144