A
new survey is trying to get to the bottom of what public travelers long for and
fancy from a journey into space.
The
intent of the survey is help design better space tourism packages - be it
zipping up to the edge of space on a suborbital spree, pulling up to a space
hotel in Earth orbit, or looping around the Moon.
Also,
the study is crafted to pulse a prospective space traveler's view of safety,
risk, and bravery required for a person to buckle up for blastoff.
Past poll
The
questions - tagged The Adventurers' Survey - represent a joint undertaking by Derek
Webber, Director of Spaceport Associates in Bethesda, Maryland and Jane
Reifert, President of Incredible Adventures, Inc., headquartered in Sarasota, Florida.
It
has been four years since Webber directed another effort to poll public
attitudes regarding space tourism - the Futron/Zogby Survey.
Futron,
a Bethesda, Maryland-based decision support consulting firm, published a space
tourism market study in 2002, based on a Zogby International poll of affluent
Americans commissioned by Futron. The poll judged the level of interest in, and
willingness to pay for, space tourism experiences among those people with the
means to plunk down cash for such flights. Futron used the poll results to
produce a 20-year forecast for consumer demand for orbital and suborbital space
tourism flights.
Highlights
of that market study included these findings:
--
The overall space tourism market is very promising, and could generate revenues
in excess of $1 billion per year by 2021;
--
Suborbital space tourism will generate the largest demand, with the potential
for 15,000 passengers and $700 million in revenues per year by 2021;
--
Orbital space tourism, while growing more slowly than its suborbital
counterpart, will still have up to 60 passengers and $300 million in revenues
per year by 2021;
--
Those interested in suborbital space tourism are demographically distinct from
those interested in orbital tourism.
Fun, money and risk
Why
another space tourism survey?
"Public
perceptions have probably changed since 2002...so it's about time! I want to
check that the original findings are still valid," Webber told SPACE.com.
And given what the public has seen from the suborbital flights of SpaceShipOne,
the rise of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, as well as the expandable
vision of Robert Bigelow's orbiting space module concept, the timing is good,
he said.
The
hope is that survey findings will be of immediate help to the industry in
designing the first space tourism packages, Webber said.
"As
we get closer to liftoff of this new industry sector, space adventure planners
and investors are facing some important choices and they are probably getting
a little nervous," Webber said. "A successful business plan in this industry
needs to faithfully reflect how the future public space traveler weighs fun,
money and risk."
Market perceptions
The
survey of space adventurers is keen on looking for answers to five questions:
--
Is there still an untapped market interest for personal space travel
adventures?
-- How does the general interest translate into various specific options and
prices on offer - and the range of options that now includes lunar trips?
--
What preferences, if any, does the public have for various architectural design
options for the space vehicle being developed for the venture?
--
What are the public attitudes, and price sensitivities, to
various elements of the space adventure packages being offered - like
duration, spacewalks, hotels, spaceports, training packages?
--
Who are the likely travelers, and how do they view risk?
"When
we have analyzed the responses, we'll get some good insight into all of these,"
Webber added. "But this doesn't mean, of course, that the work will then
be done," he cautioned.
There's
always need to monitor market perceptions especially for a totally new business
area, Webber added. "Any good consultant worth his or her salt will tell you
that!"
Customers of the future
Jane
Reifert, President of Incredible Adventures, said that, in a way, the company
has been informally surveying its customers since the early 1990's - when the
group first began offering high-altitude flights, zero gravity adventures and
hands-on cosmonaut training in Russia.
"As
a matter of routine, customers receive a 'report card' upon return home, asking
them to evaluate the programs and offer comments and suggestions. This
information is then used internally to improve our existing programs and create
new adventures," Reifert said.
By
teaming up with Webber, the surveying of customers and website visitors is
being taken to a next level, Reifert told SPACE.com. But settling on a
list of questions proved to be not an easy task, she said.
"I
wanted to get answers to the questions I'm routinely asked by people within the
space industry," Reifert continued, "about customers of the future."
Reifert
said that her experiences in selling space-related programs has provided a
foundation for who she thinks those customers will be and what they will want.
"But I'm the first to admit...I could be wrong. The results of this survey will
say a lot."
Space speak 101
A
concern is that the survey questions be presented as clearly as possible.
There's
a tendency within the space community to assume everyone "speaks space",
Reifert asserted. For example, she's not convinced everyone knows the
difference between suborbital and orbital flights. The new survey provides
clear definitions and photos, so those tallying up survey output can have
confidence in the choices participants make.
"We've
seen customer wishes and expectations change over the years as they become more
knowledgeable about our products. In the early years, they just wanted to break
the sound barrier. They didn't particularly care what jet they did it in. Now,
customers understand the differences in aircraft better and thus have clear
ideas of what they want and do not want," Reifert said.
One
item of note about the survey is that it is open for participation around the
world..."since space isn't just a U.S. thing," Reifert pointed out. Furthermore,
the survey isn't limited to gauging just adult interests.
"We
think knowing what youth think and want when it comes to space travel is important
to future plans," Reifert noted. In addition, the survey is not focused on
people of a specific income level, she said.
To
take a look at the survey, go to:
http://www.incredible-adventures.com/space-survey/index.html
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