When Elon Musk started championing for commercial space travel, many people called him a madman. He faced criticism from astrophysicists and astronauts such as Neil Armstrong. However, the business mogul did not give up. Through his company, SpaceX, he took and brought back an all-tourist crew to space in 2021. After this significant accomplishment, other billionaires, such as Jeff Bezos, joined the space tourism race. As it stands, space tourism will most likely play a critical role in the future global economy.
Is Space Tourism a New Idea?
Before we delve deeper into what space tourism means for our future economy, let’s explore a short history of this concept. The idea of taking tourists to space isn’t relatively new. After the first successful space mission, innovators conceived the idea of space tourism.
However, it was not until 2001 that Dennis Tito made history as the first space tourist. He paid $20 million to board the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that flew him to the International Space Station. Ever since, at least 600 tourists have traveled to space and back. Some have utilized government spacecraft, while others have gone on private missions.
Types of Space Tourism
At the moment, there are three types of space tourism. The first is suborbital space tourism, where spacecraft fly to space but do not achieve a complete orbit. In 2019, Jeff Bezos funded Virgin Galactic via Amazon, which made the first suborbital commercial space mission. A ticket aboard this flight cost $450,000.
The other type is orbital space flights, where spacecraft make a complete orbit and last days or weeks. In 2021, it was alleged that Space X took four tourists on an orbital space tourism mission for $50 million. Finally, there is lunar space tourism. Unfortunately, no tourists have been taken to the moon so far. Therefore, there is no estimate of how much a lunar space ticket will cost.
How Much Does Space Tourism Cost?
Based on the figures highlighted here, the economy of global space tourism was valued at $598 million in 2021. In that year alone, companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and NASA had taken several commercial spaceflights. These figures were divided across various countries, such as the US, with a market share of $191.6 million.
Economists claim that the space tourism market is expected to grow by at least 30% as we approach 2030, reaching an estimated market value of $4 billion. Some economic analysts claim space tourism could reach $1.7 billion by 2027.
This quick growth is attributed to how fast space tourism is growing. Astronauts and space companies plan to do more than take tourists for a ride through space. They plan on having tourists spend a few days or weeks in space.
Currently, the only habitable space structure is the International Space Station. This is why, in 2019, the Gateway Foundation devised a plan to build the Voyager Station, which is equivalent to a tourist resort but in space. This station is expected to be completed in 2027 and will accommodate at least 400 visitors.
As expected, this won’t be a cheap endeavor and will probably cost millions. However, the return on investment will be worth it, considering how expensive the tickets to space are. For instance, Blue Origin once sold a ticket at a charity auction for a whopping $28 million.
There are plans to bring down the cost of space tourism to a four-digit figure. However, for that to happen, NASA needs to build space shuttles that can accommodate more passengers. As a result, the fuel and operational costs will be divided amongst a larger group.
How Space Tourism Will Influence Future Economy
Investment and profits aside, space tourism will also affect our future economy by creating more jobs. The truth is that companies like Space X and Virgin Galactic have already created hundreds of jobs. As we head into the actualization of space tourism, engineers will be in high demand, which applies to nearly all specialties in this field. Space tourism will also create jobs for architects, designers, doctors, computer scientists, and marketers.
For investors interested in venturing into the space tourism economy, there is a lot of room for profit in the future. The fact that many billionaires are veering into this industry is a crucial indicator of how lucrative it is.
There are two approaches investors can take. First, they can either back government agencies like NASA or private companies. Another unique approach is to tap into commercial space travel startups such as Virtual Reality (VR) space tourism. Though inexperienced, these startups have the potential to rake in millions of dollars when space tourism finally becomes a thing in the next decade or so.
Like all other industries, the future economy of space travel isn’t written in stone. Therefore, there is a chance that things will not always go the way they should.