Space tourism is here – Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin plans to send civilians to space

"Space tourism is here – 20 years after the first stellar tourist, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin plans to send civilians to space":

https://theconversation.com/space-t...rigin-plans-to-send-civilians-to-space-160510

excerpt:

For most people, getting to the stars is nothing more than a dream. But on May 5, 2021, the 60th anniversary of the first suborbital flight, that dream became a little bit more achievable.

The space company Blue Origin announced that it would start selling tickets for suborbital flights to the edge of space. The first flight is scheduled for July 20, and Jeff Bezos’ company is auctioning off one single ticket to the highest bidder.

But whoever places the winning bid won’t be the first tourist in space.

On April 28, 2001, Dennis Tito, a wealthy businessman, paid US$20 million for a seat on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to be the first tourist to visit the International Space Station. Only seven civilians have followed suit in the 20 years since, but that number is poised to double in the next 12 months alone.

NASA has long been hesitant to play host to space tourists, so Russia – looking for sources of money post-Cold War in the 1990s and 2000s – has been the only option available to those looking for this kind of extreme adventure. However, it seems the rise of private space companies is going to make it easier for regular people to experience space.

From my perspective as a space policy analyst, recent announcements from companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX are the opening of an era in which more people can experience space. Hoping to build a future for humanity in space, these companies are seeking to use space tourism as a way to demonstrate both the safety and reliability of space travel to the general public.
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Why Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘Whitey on the Moon’ still feels relevant today

https://theconversation.com/why-gil...on-the-moon-still-feels-relevant-today-164681

 

Bezos Launching Into Space Will Probably Make Your Life Better Too

https://reason.com/2021/07/20/bezos-launching-into-space-will-probably-make-your-life-better-too/

excerpt

Contra popular narratives, the new private space tourism industry is not costing lives here on earth, nor will it be stuck in its billionaire phase for long; the technologies developed by companies like Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and Elon Musk's SpaceX will help us all, and in time they may even enable people who are not uber-rich to go to space.

In the 1950s, plane tickets were terribly expensive. A flight from New York to London that would today clock in at about seven hours could take up to 15 hours. Though you didn't have to bother with the Transportation Security Administration's ritual harassment and could get your meal served on china, planes were less safe than they are now—and they were much more likely to be hobbled by delays or cancelations, since weather had a stronger effect on the ability to fly.

Over the decades, flying on airplanes got cheaper, faster, and safer. In the '70s, only a quarter of Americans were flying at least once per year. Now that number has doubled, with almost nine in 10 Americans having taken a commercial flight at least once in their lifetime.

Private spaceflight, which is currently accessible only to those who can fork over a cool $28 million or who were born a billionaire's baby brother, may someday be a feasible vacation option for people who don't have such wealth. But even if it doesn't pan out that way, the technologies created by billionaires' space fantasies will propel many of us, rich and poor alike, to better standards of living in ways we haven't yet fully realized.
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