Space Tourism

Space tourism is an interesting topic among aviators because it's said to be the career of the future. The idea of the first space tourists to orbit started in the 1990's.  The first space tourist was Dennis Tito, on April 28, 2001.  There were many hurdles through the journey.  First Dennis was going to be sent to the space station Mir through a company called MirCorp, but this station was deorbited before the flight.  At this point Space Adventure Ltd. helped send him to the ISS (Seedhouse, 2014).  Tito not only paid $20 million for the trip, but trained just as an astronaut at that time would. It was a quite tedious process.

The FAA n.d. has put in regulations so that the risk towards individuals who wish to partake in space tourism are mitigated.  Also, the the FAA expects the space tourism company to inform the individual that there are some risks involved.  This involves, but is not limited too providing safety information and acquiring a license to conduct a launch.  Finally, the systems in place must be proven before passengers are allowed to board.  These regulations were developed in 2004 (FAA, n.d.). I feel that these regulations are  adequately restrictive.  The industry is not over regulated and it provides an ability to grow.

We are on the brink of space tourism becoming more and more of the norm.  I believe space tourism will first be  acquired by the rich, as has already been proven.  As the industry becomes more stable the price may come down so that your average consumer can take the trip for the price of a vacation.  This will only come after launches are deemed to be very successful with a limited risk.  As risk comes down so will price. From my perspective this will not be a transportation alternative, but moreover selling an experience, such as the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls.

Virgin Galactic has set form the qualifications they feel are appropriate for their pilots.  This includes U.S. citizenship, a current FAA commercial pilots license and medical, degree level qualification in a relevant technical field, graduate of a recognized test pilot school, with at least two and a half years of post-graduate experience, diverse flying background with a minimum of 3,000 hours flying, to include considerable experience of large multi-engine aircraft and high-performance fast jet aircraft and low lift-to-drag experience in complex aircraft, operational experience in an aerospace aviation project or business, and preference given to those with experience in spaceflight, commercial flight operations or flight instruction (NBC, 2013).

References:

Seedhouse, E. (2014, October 31). Encyclopedia britannica. Space Tourism. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/topic/space-tourism

FAA. (n.d.). New regulations govern private human space flight requirements for crew and space flight participants. Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved from http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/human_space_flight_reqs/

NBC. (2011, April 13). Dozens apply for space pilot jobs. NBC News. Retrieved from http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2011/04/13/6466987-dozens-apply-for-space-pilot-jobs