A few minutes or a few days of weightlessness. A small jump above the Earth’s atmosphere, or a round trip to the Moon … the era of space tourism has arrived and, for those who can afford it, it comes with many options.
– SpaceX –
1 – Inspiration4
Elon Musk’s company will send four passengers on Wednesday for three days into space. They take off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket.
The mission, chartered by American pilot and billionaire Jared Isaacman, will fly beyond the International Space Station (ISS) and will be the first orbital mission involving 4 non-professional astronauts.
2 – Ax-1
In January 2022, three businessmen will visit the ISS, along with an experienced former NASA astronaut.
The mission, which will last 10 days and is called Ax-1, is organized by the company Axiom Space, which has signed up for three more future flights with SpaceX.
They will operate in the American segment of the ISS, where they will perform scientific experiments.
3 – Space adventures
SpaceX has plans for another orbital trip for four paying customers, organized by Space Adventures, the company that organized trips for seven tourists on the ISS between 2001 and 2009 aboard Russian rockets.
4 – “DearMoon”
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa will make a trip around the Moon, presumably in 2023, aboard a still-developing SpaceX Starship rocket. The mission is called “dearMoon”.
– Virgin Galactic –
The Virgin Galactic experience involves a huge carrier plane taking off from a runway, reaching high altitude, and then dropping a rocket-powered spacecraft that accelerates into space.
Passengers and crew experience a few minutes of weightlessness at altitudes above 80 kilometers, the American definition of space.
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson took part in a test flight on July 11 from New Mexico.
The company is currently being investigated for a “mishap” during the flight. Expect to have routine flights in 2022.
– Blue origin –
Blue Origin, by Jeff Bezos, also offers a few minutes of weightlessness, but at altitudes above 100 kilometers. Its astronauts thus cross the Karman line, the boundary of internationally recognized space.
The reusable rocket takes off vertically and the capsule comes off in flight.
Its descent to return to Earth is slowed by three huge parachutes and a propeller.
The founder of Amazon was one of the first four passengers to make the trip from the company’s base in West Texas on July 20th.
– Russian plans – Russia will send an actress and a film director to the ISS in October, aboard a Soyuz rocket. The goal: to shoot the first fiction film in orbit and with zero gravity.
Yusaku Maezawa will also travel to the ISS in December on a Soyuz. The trip will last 12 days and is organized through Space Adventures.
The company announced another mission to the ISS in 2023 in a Russian rocket, for two participants, one of whom will have the opportunity to perform a spacewalk.
– Space balloon –
Other companies are developing less ambitious projects, such as Space Perspective, the capsule, hoisted by a space balloon the size of a football stadium, offers a view of the curvature of the Earth.
Tickets cost $ 125,000 but the balloon ascends only 30 miles, meaning passengers will not experience weightlessness.