What was once the astronauts’ laboratory is now becoming the billionaire’s playground. In April, pop icon Katy Perry’s 11-minute trip to space dominated our social media feeds, instantly sparking online backlash. But is this new age of space tourism viable, and will it ever become accessible to the average person?
A quick Google search for “space tourism” loads several ultra-modern space tourism websites nestled between Wikipedia entries and news articles. At first glance, booking a seat on a rocket seems as easy as entering your credit card details. However, clicking on any one of these links reveals a sleek, high-budget website with impressive photos of stars, planets, and spacecraft, along with inspirational quotes. Noticeably missing is the price tag, with a lengthy interest form in its place. This message is clear: if you have to ask how much it costs, you probably cannot afford it.
Those who can afford it don’t shy away from publicising it, just recall Katy Perry’s 11-minute space journey aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket last April. Perry was accompanied by five other women, including civil rights activist Amanda Nyugyen, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, CBS presenter Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and Jeff Bezos’ then-Fiancée Lauren Sánchez.
The Blue Origin flight was promoted as a historic all-female mission, but it was quickly met with international backlash. Critics described the flight as Bezos’ “vanity project” and pronounced it “antifeminist”. While it is true that it was the first all-female mission since 1963, many felt the flight was nothing but a star-studded publicity stunt.
In an interview with Elle, Katy Perry described space as “finally […] glam”, joking that the crew was going to “put the ‘ass’ in astronaut”. She even admitted her first reaction was “what am I going to wear?”. Perhaps this is unsurprising from a pop star who has spent the majority of her adult life curating a public image. But, it also raises a deeper worry: are we as women conditioned to focus on our appearances rather than our accomplishments? That is a subject for another article, but the fact that a whole section of this article was entitled “getting glammed up for the flight” says a lot about how this moment was framed.
The environmental impact of each space flight is both undeniable and difficult to justify. These rockets emit black carbon, commonly known as soot, which is a major contributor to the climate crisis. The warming impact of black carbon can be up to 1500 times stronger than CO2. In addition, there are concerns that the increase in gases and particles released due to space tourism could set back decades of progress made in protecting the ozone layer. As commercial spaceflights become more frequent, it will become harder to ignore the environmental trade-offs.
So, what does the future of space tourism look like? Well, based on what billionaires are ready to pay for just ten minutes, it seems absurd to question whether space tourism is a viable industry. In 2001, Dennis Tito became the first space tourist after paying $20 million USD for an eight-day trip to the International Space Station. Two decades later, just ten minutes on the first Blue Origin flight was auctioned off for a whopping $28 million USD. Blue Origin is just one of several companies – including SpaceX and Virgin Galactic – touting similar gravity-defying experiences for the ultra wealthy.
The exclusivity of space tourism echoes the early days of air travel. Like spaceflight, passenger-carrying airlines were aimed at wealthy business executives and movie stars. Today, it is hard to find someone who has never taken a flight at some point in their life. It does not seem too off the mark to suggest space travel could follow a similar trajectory.
However, the future of space tourism for the masses remains elusive. There is debate about whether competition and technological advancements will eventually drive down prices. Some organisations, including the World Economic Forum, predict space tourism will remain an activity exclusive to the rich. That said, the costs have already dropped drastically. In 2001, the first space tourist flight cost 20 million; today, sub-orbital space flights are estimated to cost in the region of 250,000-450,000 USD per person. Whether prices will continue to fall to accessible levels remains to be seen.
Who knows, maybe in 10, 20, or 30 years, a future Trinity student will write a “University Times” article about their reading-week getaway to outer space?
