The Comercial Space Industry

     Is Commercial Space Tourism a viable industry ? Over the past few years a growing level of professional work has been done on the subject and it's now clear that setting up commercial space tourism services is a realistic target for business today. However there are reports that space tourism will be utterly disappointing. Joseph Stromberg wrote an article on August 20, 2015 about how billionaires like Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos have poured tons of money into building and developing vehicles for space tourism and it seems close to happening in the next few years but the catch is, their plans merely involve flights into suborbital space technically crossing the 100 kilometer line considered the lower boundary of space to give fliers a few minutes of weightlessness. He also compared the price (about $250,000 right now) to taking a brief zero gravity flight called the "vomit comet" for $5,000. Lastly, he brings up the issue of the mass transportation of people up into space. John Logsdon, founder of the Space Policy Institute said, "we've been launching people into space for 54 years now, and less than 600 people have made the trip. I think the idea that there's some magic bullet that could open up orbital space to large numbers of people is an illusion".
     Between 1963 and 1982, U.S expendable launch vehicle (ELV) manufacturers produced vehicles only under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) or the Department of Defense (DOD). In the early 1970s when private companies and foreign governments purchased communication satellites, they had to contract with NASA to launch their payloads. The U.S government essentially served as the only provider for space launch services to the western world. In the late 1970s the U.S government decided to phase out all ELVs  except one (scout) in favor of the U.S space shuttle. The shuttle would take all U.S satellites into orbit. In 1982, the first successful private launch in the United States took place - a test launch for the space services' prototype Conestoga rocket. The procedures required to gain approval for that launch, however, proved time-consuming and led to the introduction of legislation to make it easier for companies to pursue=e commercial launch activities. The Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 as amended and re-codified as 51 U.S.C 50901-50923, authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) and through delegations, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA)  Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), to oversee, authorize and regulate both launches and reentry of launch and reentry vehicles and the operation of launch and reentry sites when carried out by U.S citizens or within the United States. The Act directs the FAA to exercise this responsibility consistent with public health and safety, safety of property and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. The Act also encourages the FAA to encourage, facilitate and promote commercial space launches and reentries by the private sector, including those involving space flight participants.
     I think the prospect of space tourism is really exciting but unfortunately I don't see it being accessible to the general public in my lifetime. I think there would be a lot of hurdles to overcome before we're able to convince the general public that space travel is safe and can be done several times and at an affordable price as well. I'm also interested to see how the rest of the world reacts to it and how the competition for space travel evolves worldwide. I don't think space travel will be just another means of transportation, it'll be something that you plan to do with your entire family one time in your lifetime and if your lucky or rich enough maybe a few times. NASA would have to develop a space vehicle that can be used more than a few times, this will help reduce the price for the general public. They'll have to convince the general public that space travel is something that's achievable on a normal consistent basis. Also, I wonder how it will affect normal transportation on earth and if it'll increase the economic distance between the upper class, middle class and lower class. I just think there's a lot to consider before or if we get there. I don't know what you have to do to be an astronaut these days or to work in the space tourism industry but I'm sure it's not easy.

REFERENCES

Stromberg, Joseph. After the Virgin Galactic crash, does space tourism still have a future?  https://www.vox.com/2014/11/4/7149465/space-tourism-virgin-future 

Stromberg, Joseph. Why space tourism is going to be utterly disappointing.  https://www.vox.com/2015/8/20/9181909/space-tourism-cost  

https://www.faa.gov/about/history/milestones/media/commercial_space_industry.pdf

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/regulations/