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Space tourism allows people to book tickets on spacecraft for varying lengths of time, from a few minutes of weightlessness on a suborbital spacecraft to hours or days on an orbital flight. Russia made it a reality in 2001 with the world’s first space tourist, but some governments are still reluctant due to safety concerns. Despite the pejorative associations of the term “tourism,” space tourism is a status symbol and a fantastic experience. While the 1960s vision of everyone being space tourists by 2000 did not come true, it could still happen someday.
Space tourism is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: space tourism. Space tourists book tickets on spacecraft for a chance to experience space on their own, on journeys of varying lengths. On a suborbital spacecraft, for example, a space tourist might get just a few minutes in space, just long enough to experience weightlessness and savor space, while other space tourists book tickets on orbital flights, traveling through space for hours or days at a time. In the late 2000s, space tourism was largely hypothetical, but the groundwork was being laid to turn it into a major industry.
Humans have long been interested in space, and when manned spaceflight started rolling out in the mid-20th century, a number of people got excited about the potential of space tourism. Several nations have also expressed interest, with savvy governments and businesses realizing it could be quite lucrative, if managed well. It was Russia that pushed this process from an interesting concept to a reality, taking Dennis Tito, the world’s first space tourist, into space in 2001.
Some governments have been reluctant about the concept of space tourism, arguing that it is dangerous, expensive and serves no practical purpose. Others argue that if people can afford to go and have an interest in space travel, they might as well make that option available. By encouraging space tourism, governments could also benefit from the revenue and could set legal limits, ensuring that visits are as safe as possible for all.
The term “space tourism” does not appeal to some people, since “tourism” has pejorative associations for some. “Personal spaceflight,” “private research,” and “civil spaceflight” are all used as euphemisms for the phrase. Whatever you may call it, space tourism is certainly a status symbol, with people paying large sums of money for even the shortest of suborbital flights, not to mention flights on ships that are actually capable of reaching orbit. According to reports, it’s also a fantastic experience, giving people the chance to see the Earth from space and experience the weightlessness and vastness of the universe.
Fanciful books and comics from the 1960s seemed to suggest that everyone would be space tourists by the year 2000, blithely traveling between planets, visiting luxurious space hotels, and even piloting their own spacecraft. Just like flying cars and many other 1960s dreams of the future, this one didn’t come true, but that doesn’t mean it won’t someday.
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