Every exciting update about the opportunities of space tourism, which we read and follow in our daily lives, has gradually increased to one of the hot topics of the day.
This reminds me of the first astronomer to land on the Moon, Neil Armstrong and his famous words, That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.
It does seem that humanity has finally made its giant leap where the days of commercialisation of space tourism is not far.
With multiple global business giants and their research divisions aiming at the commercialisation of space tourism and eyeing for a competitive advantage, as the industry is gradually getting new entrants, very soon, top businessmen and philanthropists of different nations will be representing their own space tourism fleet for their customers.
The piece further intends to discuss the possibilities and potential of space tourism by different firms from different countries.
Jeff Bezos X Richard Branson
Social media was witnessing a battlefield formed by the fanatics of Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, as there were a lot of expectations and debates brewing on who will be the first space tourist with their company’s space shuttle.
The month witnessed both of the space trips, where Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, went on with three co-passengers, using the Blue Origin, with their maiden space flight.
Like said, the same month witnessed a second philanthropist reaching out to space, who also became the first person to tour space on his own company’s vehicle – Richard Branson.
He took a short trip to space with his rocket plane, Virgin Galactic.
The piece intends to delve into more amusing details on the space trip of both these biz giants, who are restructuring the face of the tourism industry.
Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin
The New Shepard was the carrier, who got fuelled up to space, with Jeff Bezos, accompanied by his brother Mark Bezos, Wally Funk and Olivier Deaman.
Virgin Galactic was launched nine days prior to the launch of the flight, and it successfully reached an altitude of 107 km (66 miles).
Another surprising fact associated with Blue Origin’s space adventure is that it carried both the oldest person and the youngest person to be on a space trip.
Wally Funk was reportedly 82 years of age, and Olivier Deaman was 18 when they crossed the Karman Line.
The booster also consisted of a capsule of ten feet, with big windows and leather recliners.
Reportedly the flight was of ten minutes, and right after the detachment, the passengers were experiencing weightlessness and were floating around for the next four minutes.
The carrier landed safely, with six parachutes attached to it, which has a maximum capacity of six tourists.
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Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic
The UK based philanthropist and entrepreneur Richard Branson took Unity, the new space flight of Virgin Galactic to space.
The flight was piloted by two experts, and there were three Virgin Galactic employees who accompanied Sir Branson in his maiden space adventure.
Beth Moses, Sirisha Bandla, and Colin Bennett were the other passengers on board as the flight successfully crossed the US approved space border of 50 miles of altitude.
The passengers reportedly experienced a floating period of five minutes in space, which was captured by the cameras set in the flight.
Right after his maiden space adventure, Sir Richard Branson announced the launch of commercial flights to space, in the year 2022, with ticket prices being charged around $2.5 lakh per tourist.
The Future of space tourism
This announcement can be considered as the mark of a new era for the tourism industry where reaching out to space is no longer a dream.
Both of the entrepreneurs shared a similar comment on their first space adventure, quoting it as the best day of their life.
Jeff Bezos would be joining the commercial market soon, offering space adventures.
Reports say that Virgin Galactic was able to make a sale of 600 tickets to space till now, with its actual commercial flights anticipated to be launching in 2022.
Although the space dreams are coming true, it is still a distant fantasy for many, being the cost of the tickets, and it might take decades from now for a slashing up, as there is minimal competition in the industry.
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