Speaker A
On the 12th of April 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first ever human to venture into space.
Explore the future of space tourism, private astronauts, reusable rockets, and affordable space habitats in this insightful video by Primal Space.
Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.
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Key Takeaways
- Space tourism is transitioning from exclusive, expensive trips to potentially more affordable experiences through reusable rockets.
- Private astronauts have paved the way for commercial space travel despite initial resistance from agencies like NASA.
- Reducing the cost of living in space is critical for the growth of space tourism, with innovations like inflatable habitats playing a major role.
- Reusable spacecraft technology is essential for lowering costs and increasing flight frequency.
- Space tourism is still in early stages but technological advancements suggest it could become accessible to a broader audience in the future.
What the video covers
- Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space on April 12, 1961, and since then only 560 people have been to space, mostly trained astronauts.
- Only seven people have paid to go to space, including Dennis Tito who paid $20 million for an 8-day trip to the ISS in 2001.
- NASA initially resisted space tourists, but private partnerships enabled early space tourists to visit the ISS.
- Reusable rockets like Blue Origin’s New Shepard are designed to reduce spaceflight costs and enable short tourism flights with weightlessness experiences.
- New Shepard features six seats and large windows, reaching 100 km altitude before free-falling back to Earth.
- Although current space tourism is expensive, reusability could lower costs significantly, potentially opening space travel to a wider public.
- Operating costs for living in space remain high, with the ISS costing NASA $4 billion annually and daily visitor costs around $35,000.
- Bigelow Aerospace is developing inflatable space station modules that could serve as affordable space hotels by reducing launch and operating costs.
- Simplifying space habitat operations and improving technology could make space tourism more accessible in the future.
- Advancements in reusable rockets and expandable modules are key to making space tourism a viable and affordable reality.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction to Human Spaceflight and Space Tourism
- 00:27Private Astronauts and Early Space Tourists
- 00:53Dennis Tito’s Trip to the ISS
- 01:23Reusable Rockets and Blue Origin’s New Shepard
- 02:27Experience and Cost of New Shepard Flights
- 02:47Potential for Cost Reduction and Wider Access
- 03:19Costs of Living in Space and ISS Commercialization
- 03:53Bigelow Aerospace and Inflatable Space Habitats
- 04:29Future Outlook for Space Tourism
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
On that day, he saw the world in a way that no human had ever seen before.
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Since then, just 560 people have been into space, most of them being trained astronauts that spent years preparing for their flights.
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But when will the rest of us get a chance to visit space? And what will we do when we get there?
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In this video, we’re going to look at the future of space tourism. We’re also going to look at the private astronauts that have paid to go into space and how reusable rockets could help to kickstart the space tourism industry.
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Since the beginning of spaceflight, only 7 people have paid to go to space. In 2001, American entrepreneur Dennis Tito paid $20 million for an 8-day trip to the International Space Station.
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At the time, NASA thought it was inappropriate for tourists to go to space, so they refused to train him.
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Instead, he partnered with the Russians and took a ride on Soyuz mission TM32 along with two cosmonauts.
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He recalls the spectacular moment when he looked out of his window for the first time and saw the curvature of the Earth against the darkness of space.
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Dennis spent a total of 8 days on the ISS where he performed various experiments and admired the incredible view of Earth.
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So far, the amount of paying visitors to space has been very low, but all that could change in the near future.
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With multiple private space companies developing reusable spacecraft, the cost of spaceflight is starting to lower dramatically.
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Blue Origin is developing their ‘New Shepard’ spacecraft specifically for tourism flights into space. This capsule has 6 seats with the largest windows ever seen in a spacecraft.
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During these flights, the rocket will accelerate up to 100 km in altitude before cutting off the engine and releasing the capsule.
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At this point, the capsule is essentially in free fall but still travelling upwards to its highest point.
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Passengers inside the capsule will be able to leave their seats and experience the effects of weightlessness.
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A few minutes later, the passengers will return to their seats before the capsule enters the atmosphere and the effects of weightlessness disappear.
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Although these flights will be extremely short, the reusability of this rocket could give customers a chance to experience the wonders of space from a price as low as $200,000.
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Although this will still only satisfy the super rich, it’s a step in the right direction if spaceflight is to ever achieve the price and safety standards of airliners.
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But as the industry grows and companies compete to develop the cheapest ride into space, these prices could fall even more.
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If each space vehicle can be reused multiple times before needing serious refurbishment, the customer will only need to cover the cost of crew and fuel.
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An airplane can fly multiple times per day, and conduct tens of thousands of flights over its lifetime.
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If a rocket can reach even a fraction of those numbers, space tourism could be opened up to the wider public.
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But developing a cheap ride into space is only half of the problem. The cost of actually living in space is still an incredibly expensive luxury.
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In order to run the International Space Station, it costs NASA around $4 billion each year.
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After years of avoiding commercialization, NASA recently opened up the ISS to paying customers. But with the extremely high running costs, the ISS is still just a destination for the wealthy.
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In order to have food and air during your stay on the ISS, it will cost you $22,500 per day.
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Once everything else like power and Wi-Fi is included, a one-night stay onboard the ISS will cost you at least $35,000.
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In order for space tourism to become a reality, the cost of building and operating a habitat in space will need to be drastically reduced.
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Space technology startup Bigelow Aerospace is developing large inflatable space station modules. These modules can be packed into a rocket’s payload bay and inflated into a much larger size when in space.
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The idea is that large expandable modules like these could be the perfect foundation for space hotels.
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Currently, the ISS requires an enormous team of people working 24 hours a day just to keep the station running.
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Bigelow Aerospace is hoping to simplify the operation of their modules and reduce the running cost.
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And since they are easier to manufacture and cheaper to launch than traditional space station modules, they could reduce the cost of living in space altogether.
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So although the idea of space tourism may seem like a distant fantasy, the incredible advancements in reusable rockets and space modules could soon open the door. Thank you very much for watching, and I’ll see you in the next video.
Topics:space tourismYuri GagarinDennis Titoreusable rocketsBlue OriginNew ShepardInternational Space StationBigelow Aerospacespace habitatsprivate astronauts
