Space tourism will be a reality in a matter of years, but in the last few years, personal space travel has become a far more feasible business proposition. But much work remains in fostering and then sustaining such an enterprise. For one, there is need not to over-promise ticket-paying customers about prospective space jaunts-adventure that will be costly for the foreseeable future and far from risk-free.
Even at price tags in the range of $150,000 per trip, there are already waiting lists of eager folk anxious for their suborbital trip. The orbital space tourism experience is, however, much harder to provide. It is technically as well as commercially harder to provide such a experience. It is harder technically because of the higher kinetic energy trajectories that need to be flown. And it is harder commercially, because significantly fewer potential travelers will be able to afford the prices for such missions, expected to be in the order of $10 million per trip.
However, the new concept that comes to boost the space tourism industry is what to wear for that flight into the final frontier? The new Los Angeles-based company on Thursday promised to dress the first space tourists and crew members in style keeping in view the safety of the passengers. The concept is basically to make the passengers feel like they’ve stepped off the set of a science fiction movie. Hopefully it will work. Future passengers of space can also look forward to cushioned reclining seats and lots of windows during suborbital flights aboard SpaceShipTwo, a concept interior of which was unveiled by British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson in September this year.
Orbital Outfitters planned to be on the leading edge of space suit fashion in a tourism industry expected to blast off around 2008. Safety will be paramount and the suits will be made to protect passengers from extreme cold, lack of air and atmospheric pressure and provide life-support functions for 30 minutes at 500,000 feet, or 95 miles high.
The cost of leasing the suit for one trip is expected to be about $3-6,000.
Via: Reuters
