Pack Your Bags! We’re Going on a Space Vacation!
Space vacations are a real thing! If you want to see the Earth from a brand new perspective, and experience weightlessness like a real astronaut, and you have a few million dollars to spare, you can sign up right now. Space Adventures will take you to Low-Earth Orbit and beyond on a SpaceX Falcon 9. Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin will also start opening up space tourism lines in the near future.
But, what is the space tourism experience really like? Is it safe? How long is the trip? Will they serve food? Do I have to go through astronaut training? Do I have to be a multimillionaire to afford all this?
On this episode of On Orbit, I’m joined by two space experts who try to answer all of my silly space tourism questions. The first interview is with NASA planetary science mission expert Laura Seward Forczyk, also founder of space consulting firm Astralytical, and the author of Rise of the Space Age Millennials.
Laura and I have a fun and informative conversation about how space companies have been working to create the ideal, safe leisure space travel experience. She outlines the preparation process for passengers, which varies based on the length of each trip. What was most informative for me was her explanation of how the experience of taking off and landing will be different between different rockets and for different people.
The second interview is with E2MC Ventures Founder Raphael Roettgen, space advisor to institutional investors and governments, author of European best-seller “Hoch Hinaus,” and space tourism investor (Space Perspective). He’s also the host of Space Business Podcast, which I highly recommend if you like On Orbit!
Raphael and I discuss the economics of the space tourism market. We answer these questions: How many people would sign up for a space vacation right now? How many people could afford it? How many more people would be interested if the price was lower (in the thousands range)? What are the safety risks and who is liable when accidents happen?
Learn everything you need to know about your future space vacation in this unique and exciting episode of On Orbit!