We all have lived and grown in this age where a typical vacation generally means, a visit to a holiday destination (e.g. a hill station or a beach), a place of Spiritual relevance or more commonly, paying a visit to our relatives.
However, the concept of vacations, as we know it, is in for an epic transformation. Our holiday destinations are now not just limited to what exists on the ground but what may lie above the visible horizons. The time has come when our typical tourism industry is going to be massively revolutionized by the Space tourism industry, opening another multi-billion dollar revenue stream with an unlimited potential for future growth, expansion and profit generation.
As the age of space tourism dawns upon us, we the common folks of the world would finally have an opportunity to live our wildest imaginations. We will have a chance to experience something that until now was only seen on Television documentaries or Hollywood movies. We will now have a chance to expand our vision beyond borders, politics and prejudices and admire the beauty of a beautiful blue pearl floating in the huge dark void of nothingness. We will now have a chance to eventually see our true home. Space tourism would not just generate massive revenues for the companies involved and the tourism industry as a whole, but it will also play a transformational role. Not just, will it transform tourism and technology but it will also transform mindsets and believes.
Currently, space tourism is still in its infancy with the majority of innovation and investment happening at the behest of some of the biggest conglomerates on our planet. The names of 3 most prominent space tourism ventures are as follows :
1. Space X (Elon Musk: Tesla)
2. Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos: Amazon)
3. Virgin Atlantic (Richard Branson: Virgin Atlantic group)
They are trying to build various prototypes that are capable of safely taking and bringing back humans to and from the outer reaches of the Earth’s atmosphere. This will help them experience micro-gravity in the near-earth orbit, view the Earth as a planet in front of their own eyes and admire the vastness of space.
They all are working on their own separate models to minimize cost and find ways to make space tourism safe and affordable for a larger population.
But, that’s not the whole picture. Many countries and their space agencies are also vying for a slice of this big pie. Silently, all prominent space going nations e.g. US, China, Russia, India, EU, Japan are trying to develop their own space tourism programs. So, the money is already flowing into this sector for R&D activities and development of support infrastructure.
Going by the demand, enthusiasm and the level of competition, we can expect to see some rapid progress made in this field in the years to come.
Overall, we can say that the field of space tourism is a very promising sector with a massive business potential. But as of now, it needs a lot of work in the field of technological innovation, testing and ensuring safety and sustainability.
Going by the rampant demand that already exists for this sector, it is safe to assume that once fully operational, it can quickly be scaled up to achieve the much needed, ‘Economies of Scale’ to bring down the cost involved and make this sector significantly more affordable and easily available to the masses.
