The future of space tourism is a hot debate today because the resent studies show that it is a phenomenon that the wealthy corporate as well as individuals such as the Californian Multi-Millionaire: Dennis Tito, are venturing into with the aim of reaching the Low Orbit Earth (LEO). This is an indication that the venture is going to be a well paying tourism sector. In addition, a large goal for the many developing space ship companies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
They hope to shuttle cargo and the astronauts through a Commercial Orbital Transport System (COTS) to International Space Station (ISS). Companies like “Scaled Composites, Blue Origin, and SpaceX are developing” space commercial crafts as well as programs to enable people tour the earth’s orbit. The critics behind this industry are the costs involved.
Millionaires such as Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Anousheh Ansari, Charles Simonyi and, Greg Olsen have spent approximately $20 million for a couple of days tour to space aboard the ISS. In line with Laliaberte Guy (1, 2009), he was the seventh private client to take a space adventure in September 30, 2009 in a poetic special mission to create public awareness regarding the “ONE DROP” foundation.
For this reason, the characteristic of the playground is for the rich since there are strong indications regarding the costs involved. The future aspiration is on making space tourism available at affordable rates for the middle class. Just like the rush for space was a couple of years back, the race for space tourism is currently at is boiling point and thus this tourism industry has high growth expectations.
Background information of the space tourism predicament
The capability for space transportation has over the years seen very little advancement if any to facilitate a solution to the big obstacle of space development. New programs and equipments are essential requirements to facilitate space development and access. The reasons why people suffer from high space tourism costs is lack of proper space ships.
This means that companies launch space ships that are highly volatile and thus the disposals after only a few usages. Today, there is urgent need for an approach that will move to a more rational and affordable space visit program. The biggest challenge is the ability to come up with a more robust, highly reliable but frequently reusable space ship: Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV).
Thesis/Problem statement
“Future expectations of the space tourism,” is a research investigating and analyzing patterns and available perspectives into the key themes of the proposed innovative developments concerning infrastructure, technological advancement, reusability to ships and, partnership between the government and private sector. The collaboration enhances the existing capabilities to make the development affordable and available to more willing participants.
Hypothesis Statement
The future for Space tourism is a program for the rich. It is a common believe among most people that, space tourism is for the rich with because one of the key contributors for its development is finances.
Purpose/Significance of the study
The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the consequences and key concepts involved in the development and offer suggestions from the research findings on ways of reducing or eliminating the social, economical and emotional challenges behind the tourism sector.
Objectives of the study
This term paper lays down the need for researching the background of the future space tourism, its impact to the society and those who are involved as well as assessment over the importance of the future endeavours and possible policy recommendations.
Significance of the study operations
The key topics to be covered entail the focus over commercial architecture and the funding required for fostering its implementation. This is in the aim of lowering the high degree of requirement for the embryonic space tourism and its drive towards lower transportation cost to avail the next generation of efficiency over operations.
he International Space Station (ISS) currently faces challenges related to cost overruns efficient in starting the developmental phase of the key elements required for architectural growth in support for long-term ISS needs, and facilitation of next-generation systems.
The Procedure of the Study/Research Methodology
The literature reviews will enable better understanding of the topic. Preparation of the research proposal over the chosen topic will enhance and quantify the research as a study topic and prepare for respondents.
Information collected will equally tabulate and assist in ranking the findings form broad areas and help to narrow the scope to the objectives of the study analysis. The analysis will then draw the conclusion from generally analyzed data in the literature review.
The research findings will entail data collected through websites of the concern companies as well as marketing companies in the study area, observation of the proceedings over the specified data collection period.
For the study analysis, the collected data and studies conducted used to discern patterns and formulate principles that might guide future action of the study subject. In this case study of space tourism the research checks the background information, progress, surveillance and examination of current state of matter and the involvement with other related cases.
The analysis of records regarding internal as well as external consequences is equally important. Comparison of various space tourism vehicles manufactured today offers better understanding and analysis results.
Correlation-prediction will involve statistically correlation and prediction of coefficients between aspiring and involved tourists. This term paper will therefore attempt to find or describe space tourism principles and explain existing status or competitions and propose future direction for the industry.
Proposed Research Procedures
The research study follows a design that samples some parental responses over the questions regarding availability of attributes, in supporting growth of a transport system that integrates a multi-faceted architecture in support for commercial space tourism. This advancement would support civil programs such as space exploration and settlement.
The analysis of recently surveyed results indicates that such a system would be in a position to address the current crisis in connection to the high cost of accessing space, ordinary liabilities, and unavailability of reusable systems into the current infrastructure.
Literature Review
Reusability
The Space Transportation System (STS) in America has attempted to launch a reusable ship. Orbiter from space shuttle of an imitation produced in collaboration with Solid Rocket Booster (SRBs), which is well equipped with a wealth of knowledge with regard to the operability and reusability approaches. The Orbiter shuttle however requires a remote recovery procedure, which involves expensive manufacturing and some logistics recovery procedures to assist it take off.
This means that there is grater need for enhancing refurbishment other than remanufacturing before reusing the shuttle. There is equality need to adjust the turn around time between the flight by adopting the technological advancement and design techniques. Basing the current technology on reusable boosters is the space shuttle’s greatest revolutionary step to space transportation system.
The costs and markets
The other issues prohibiting the launce of more available and affordable space shuttle for potential clients entail costs and markets. Considering the production, initiating the new reusable space vehicles would be expensive considering there is only a small number of units’ reusable while the rest need remanufacturing.
Secondly, the current technology uses the chemically propelled rockets, which are equally expensive. The production of large SRB reusable boosters for commercial purposes would be economically unjustifiable, although the STS may make the system less expensive in operability. The reusable boosters would replace the SRBs but with the shuttle, being too close to the end of its lifetime, then it would not take full advantage of the technology.
Other major problem includes the space launch market that needs to be sufficient in support for a new vehicle that engages enough number of voyages. The current space allows for approximately 1000 satellite launches over a 10-year period. Simple arithmetic would equate this to 100 payloads per year and any new system must compete within that market niche. There are serious difficulties associated with this because any new system must pay up developmental and production costs in the aim of making a profit. Currently, there is a very low traffic measure, which cannot economically justify the least cost space vehicle.
It is easy to imagine the exotic and elegance of the outer space comfort and cruise experience but these orbital technologies and lifestyles require a merge between National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) architectural technologies with quality marketing strategies such as entertainment.
“What markets would be involved in such space cruise ships?” In line with the Space Tourism Society (1, n.d), the marketing strategies would require one to know the facilities to include in the space such as hotels, and the products and services on offer to sustain in such an awkward environments.
Futon Corporation is an industrial leader for forecasting the markets related to space tourism. It has considerable amount of realistic advancement plans for space flights. People like travelling and having fun and thus will be willing for the same in spaceships. According to Futron’s report (10), they forecast indicate, “Orbital space travel projects by 2021, will involve approximately 60 passengers flying annually, representing revenues in excess of US$300 million.”
There is need for “market shock” and exploding demand may cause the economies of scale to act accordingly to the comfort levels where capitalist are in a position to venture into new markets such as the space ship markets and thus bring in more funds for the space transport system. Currently, the race over space tourism is between commercial enterprises.
Upon the first commercial trip by Dennis Tito aboard a “Soyuz TM-32,” (Shayler, 1), in 2004 “British aviator-financier Richard Branson announced the launch of Virgin Galactic, a company which will use Spaceship One technology, with hopes of launching sub-orbital flights by 2008”.
This race is evident with the virgin Atlantic launch of the “Virgin Galactic’s space vehicles.” This is a positive step since it has hybrid rocket motor power for enhancing reusability due to high amount of control it avails the pilots over landing. According to Virgin Galactic, this is a milestone catapult on the aviation industry and is for the good reason of enhancing space tourism.
The space vehicle is currently an entirely carbon fused aviation means of space transport ever built therefore making it the most fuel resourceful system in comparison to its size. The vehicle is capable of currying huge payloads of approximately 35,0000 lbs through high elevation over a wide range of miles. For the size of such a space ship, it has the ability to perform by manoeuvring over great heights (Virgin Galactic, 1).
With this type of advancement, the space tourism emerges as a viable market considering its potential to generate high revenues thus the need to justify the investment requirements for a reduced cost of accessing the services. National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s research on the matter indicates that tens of millions of the United States citizens would wish to travel privately to space if the parties involved were able to alleviate the current global market barriers in the industry.
Today most governments fail to recognize the potential of space tourism investment as prospective “revenue generating tax base or a drive to greater market drive for next generation” (Whalen, 3). However, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has greater initiative programs for generating reports over procedures to reduce risks and availing architectural requirements that meet the future generation space vehicles.
The aim for space advancement has been a race between the Soviet Union and United States since 1957 when Soviet launched “Sputnik 1” (Siddiqi, 1). The pace has however slowed but exploration is still advancing. The USA launched a reusable shuttle in April 12, 1981 and USSR an “automatic reusable space craft: Buran in November 15, 1988.” The European Space Agency (ESA) lunched a commercial rocket: Aricane 4 to compete with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) over the unmanned space investigations.
This efforts by ESA have catalyzes efforts and ambitions such as the Aurora plan to send a human being on a mission to Mars by the year 2030. The U.S. president Bush administration also planed a mission to reach the same goal and equally have a crew exploration space ship for return trip to the moon.
These events are an evidence of the continual race over space tourism. In 2005, the ESA group teamed up with Russia on what seem to be a head start to co-fund and subsequently develop the “CEV” as a counterpart to “Kliper” scheduled for a first launch in 2011 thus going way before the U.S. plans.
Other nations such as China are in a position of increasing required competition over exploration of space tourism. Their funding may be excessively low in comparison to ESA and NASA but they have a success concerning “Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6” and further plans for a space station by the “Chinese Space Program.” In 2006, the U.S. through the Pentagon released a report over china’s growing space power concerning their “Chandrayaan-1” mission and other space programs especially by India and Japan.
Suggested Research
The tourism market is a broad market like the military or civil market and thus the need for better definition and identification especially for the next generation of the space transport systems. The governments need to enhance measures that promote the appreciation of space tourism.
This paper suggests further research findings over the government promotion procedures. The governments ought to know that the technological developments are an important aspect of the market environment for the functioning of the future generation especially in the aeronautic industry.
There is equally the need to research on enhancing procedures to make people understand prospective market niche and depth in the space tourism. Identification of require future technologies is equally important considering that the industry is a multi million dollar investment, thus the need to understand the potential of the market in details, possible estimate figures and time of returns on investment.
Conclusion
The space tourism industry is similar to the past airline history. There are many potential passengers willing to pay for the journey to space and the governments should therefore consider this as an eminent opportunity to solve the current costly space access inconveniences.
If the corporation between the private sector and the government is able to drive admission charges to a lower level with the aim of encouraging rebirth of a new arena that encourages commerce and industry, then there will be a great utilization of the space opportunities for growth. The space tourism is an identified market niche that might catalyze utilization of infrastructure in space especially due to future discoveries.
Work Cited
Futron Corporation. “Space Tourism Market Study orbital space travel & destinations with suborbital space travel.” Wisconsin, Bethesda, Maryland, MD. 2002. Web.
Laliberte, Guy. “Moving Stars and Earth for Water: Poetic special mission”. Space adventures. 2009. Web.
Shayler, David J. “Soyuz: A Universal Spacecraft.” Rex Hall, 2003.
Siddiqi, Asif A. “Sputnik and the Soviet Space Challenge.” 2003.
Space Tourism Society. “The Orbital Lifestyle.” A non-profit visionary space experience research and design organization. (n.d). Web.
Virgin Galactic. “Spaceships: Virgin Galactic’s Vehicles.” (n.d). Web.
Whalen, David J. “Communications Satellites: Making the Global Village Possible.”
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). 2007. Web.