Sunita Williams on the future of space tourism

India Today

Floating in zero gravity, starring at Earth from space—Sunita Williams believed in 2016 that more people traveling to space would change perspectives on our planet.

Transcript

00:00I think more and more people going to space and having that view is just gonna help all

00:05of us around the world because you'll get a different perspective.

00:08That's NASA astronaut Sunita Williams talking about space tourism back in 2016.

00:13Space tourism is commercial travel beyond Earth for a brief, thrilling experience of

00:17weightlessness and stunning views.

00:19Thanks to Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX,

00:25a tour of space is becoming as easy as boarding a flight.

00:28But how much will it cost for a common man to do it?

00:31And what are the dangers involved?

00:33The process starts with training aspiring space tourists who undergo a few days of preparation

00:38which includes learning safety protocols, experiencing high g-forces in a simulator,

00:43practicing weightlessness in zero-gravity flights.

00:46After training, passengers are launched 80-100 km above Earth,

00:50crossing the Karman line, the edge of space.

00:52Passengers experience a few minutes of weightlessness

00:55and breathtaking views of Earth before descending back.

00:58This once-in-a-lifetime experience comes with a hefty price tag.

01:02Virgin Galactic around $450,000 per seat which is approximately 3.75 crores.

01:08Blue Origin estimated $250,000 to $1 million which is approximately 2.1 crores to 8.3 crore rupees.

01:16SpaceX for multi-day orbital trips costs about $55 million which is approximately 460 crore rupees.

01:23Sub-orbital flights like those by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic

01:26last about 10-15 minutes while orbital trips like SpaceX missions can last several days to a few weeks.

01:32The first ever space tourist was Dennis Tito, an American entrepreneur who paid $20 million,

01:38approximately 166 crore rupees in today's value,

01:41in 2001 to visit the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.

01:46In 2021, Richard Branson became the first billionaire to reach space

01:50on his own Virgin Galactic flight VSS Unity on July 11, 2021.

01:57On 19th May 2024, Gopi Thotakura became India's first space tourist taking Blue

02:03Origin's New Shepherd spacecraft for a 10-minute sub-orbital flight alongside five other passengers.

02:08By 2033, the global space tourism market is expected to grow to $28.48 billion.

02:14Innovations like AI-powered booking systems,

02:17virtual reality previews and orbital resorts will transform how we experience space.

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