With
the world's first female space tourist, U.S. entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari,
safely back on Earth, a new survey spotlights the feelings of prospective
travelers hungering to follow in her boot steps.
Called
the Adventurers' Survey, the appraisal was done in August and September and
conducted by Derek Webber, Director of Spaceport Associates in Bethesda, Maryland and Jane Reifert, President of Incredible Adventures, Inc. of Sarasota, Florida.
The
survey was done on line via the web site of Incredible Adventures. Nearly 1,000
responses were obtained and analyzed.
In
taking an early look at the survey results, it "provides some much-needed
customer perception feedback to those who are putting their first space tourism
offerings together," Webber told SPACE.com. The public study uncovered
several surprises, he added, especially on spacecraft architectures and
perceptions about spaceports.
Reifert
and Webber report that there's an untapped market interest for personal space
travel adventures. Space travel now takes its place amongst a range of other
adventure packages for consideration when funds allow, they suggest, and in
this context, spaceflight is regarded as the "ultimate" adventure experience.
Pricey seats
So
far, orbital space tourism has been the propelled province of well-heeled
millionaires. Even for projected suborbital jaunts - up to the edge of space
and return to Earth - the pricey price tag for a Virgin Galactic spaceliner
seat slaps your purse or wallet for roughly $200,000.
Several
key results of the space tourism survey point out:
- The prices of current space treks into suborbital and
orbital are generally too high at present, with only 7 percent registering
for suborbital and 4 percent for an orbital adventure at current price
levels.
- Suborbital flights would really take off at $25,000,
and orbital flights at $500,000, if such price levels were compatible with
an operator's business plan. If price were not an issue, nearly two thirds
of the respondents would want to go on a round-the Moon adventure.
- A large proportion of those surveyed don't have a firm
idea about their preferred design of the tourism spacecraft. But of those
who stated an opinion, there was surprising agreement. A majority of
adventurers wanted either a direct vertical launch or a "horizontal all
the way" approach, with takeoff suspended under a mother craft coming in
third.
- Spaceports for a suborbital flight do not seem to
matter. The survey indicated that 48 percent of those polled would go
"anywhere" for the experience, while another 31 percent would go "anywhere
provided it was in their country". It should be noted in this context that
63 percent of the respondents taking the survey were from the United States.
- In terms of orbital tourism flights, upwards of 70 percent
surveyed would be happy with two weeks or less. Regarding spacewalking, 88
percent were interested in an out-the-hatch stroll, but only 14 percent
would be willing to pay a 50 percent premium for the opportunity. Only 21
percent indicated the need for a hotel/space station destination on their
orbital trip, but of these, most would pay up to a 30 percent premium for
the facility.
Four for four
Returning
to Earth late last month, Anousheh Ansari is the fourth pay-per-view person to
plunk down some $20 million to climb aboard the International Space Station.
Her flight was made possible via a deal arranged between Space Adventures, a
U.S.-based space tourism firm, and the Russian Federal Space Agency.
Saluting
Ansari's flight, Webber called the space trek a "superbly well managed
exercise", one that showcased her dedication and commitment to the new space
tourism industry.
"It's
always good to be able to add another successful space tourism experience to
the database," Webber added. Starting with Dennis Tito's excursion in 2001,
there are now four for four successes thanks to Russian space tourism
operations, he noted, along with: Mark Shuttleworth in 2002, Gregory Olsen in
2005, and Anousheh
Ansari in 2006.
"I
look forward to the time when we can start including U.S. orbital space tourism
flights in the database. At least the U.S. suborbital industry is getting
closer to reality," Webber observed, pointing out that NASA's recent Commercial
Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) awards -- contracting private firms to
send cargo and crew to the International Space Station -- may well stimulate
orbital space tourism.
"We
must wait to see if either of the COTS winners can introduce orbital tourism as
a piggyback operation with their vehicles," Webber concluded.
For
an executive summary of The Adventurers' Survey findings, go here.
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