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Space Tourism: Far-Out Fantasy, Or Close to Reality?
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 07:00 am ET
16 October 2000
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"In its infancy, commercial aviation was only for the most wealthy. Now, almost anyone can afford to travel by air. It's not that big a stretch to believe that the same will be true for commercial space transportation," Bukley said.
"Once we make the technological leap to truly affordable access to space," she added, "then it's only a matter of time before routine space flights are possible. At first, only the very wealthy and healthy will be able to go. Then, as the industry evolves and matures, it will be affordable by the general public."
"I think you'll start to see things happening here and there. When that occurs, then the world will change. My nose in the air tells me that by 2005, I'll know whether any of these things are real within my lifetime or not."
There's something in the air about space tourism, said Wendell Mendell, a space scientist at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He co-chaired, along with Bukley, the ISU report.
"I think there will be some kind of paradigm-changing event that will occur within the decade, and probably within the next five years," Mendell said.
The commercialization of Mir to permit well-heeled day-trippers is a step in that direction. Perhaps the Chinese offering suborbital passenger flights could be another step, he said.
"I think you'll start to see things happening here and there. When that occurs, then the world will change. My nose in the air tells me that by 2005, I'll know whether any of these things are real within my lifetime or not," Mendell said.
"It will be awhile before there's anything like a mass exodus. But it will be a start." | | | |
