Since Yuri Gagarin was blasted into space 46 years ago, many have aspired to follow him. Next year, that dream looks as if it might become a reality when Virgin Galactic will become the first company to offer suborbital space trips to anyone who can afford them. With space tourism predicted to become a £350 million-a-year industry by 2021, there is a wealth of companies investing in technology that could offer us the chance to go further and for longer, with the possibility of space hotels and lunar trips in the very near future.
However, space tourism is a risky business and companies have already acknowledged that they are unable to keep the risks as low as NASA. A fatality for NASA would mean a massive loss of prestige and potentially the end of the programme, whereas private firms will state the risk (thought to be a 1 in 50 chance of death) and allow people to make up their own minds.
The X Prize
A modern space race to become the first private company to offer trips into space began with the launch of the X Prize competition in 1996. It promised £4.9 million to the first non-governmental organisation to launch a reusable spacecraft capable of flying into space and back twice within two weeks. It was won by the Tier One project’s SpaceShipOne craft, designed by Burt Rutan and funded by Microsoft’s Paul Allen in 2004.
Virgin Galactic will use an adapted version of this (SpaceShipTwo) to launch up to six passengers and two pilots into space. The craft will be carried on the back of Rutan’s White Knight Two rocket, released 110km up and then glide back to its spaceport in New Mexico, designed by Norman Foster.
For £107,000, passengers will receive three days of training building up to a 2.5 hour flight. For six minutes of the journey they will be able to remove their seatbelts and float in zero gravity, wearing spacesuits by Louis Vuitton and viewing Earth from the luxury of the space age interior designed by Philippe Starck.
Some people are not convinced by this opportunity and William Shatner, on being offered a free seat on the maiden voyage, replied: “I’m interested in man’s march into the unknown, but to vomit in space is not my idea of a good time. Neither is a fiery crash with the vomit hovering over me.”
Space for everyone
For most of us, actually physically reaching space is impossible. Thanks to the internet though, there are ways of exploring the planets without paying huge sums of money or wearing a space suit! To find out more about all aspects of space, log on to these websites:
www.nasa.gov
www.space.co.uk
www.google.com/sky
www.hubblesite.org
www.bnsc.gov.uk
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