While space travel used to be a part of research and development studies, today it has become a commercial activity. These commercial trips, which are not cheap at all, started in 2001 with US millionaire Dennis Tito, who paid nearly $20 million to Russia’s space agency Roscomos.
Tito was followed in 2002 by South African millionaire Mark Shuttleworth, known for his work with the Linux-based Ubuntu OS. In 2006, Anousheh Ansari, the first woman to fly as a space tourist, had this experience. By 2021, space tourism has increased significantly with the participation of private companies in the sector. So why is space travel so expensive?
Space tourism is increasing with private companies!
With the steps taken by the private sector on space travel, people can now go to space more often. Although this situation causes the prices to decrease, going to space is an activity that only the wealthy can do for now.
Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and SpaceX are the companies that play the lead in this regard. According to the allegations, Virgin Galactic wants more than $450 thousand from a person to go on a space journey. Customers who pay $450 thousand offer a magnificent view and a zero-gravity environment experience.
SpaceX wants $55 million!
Blue Origin and SpaceX seat prices remain a mystery. While Blue Origin offers a more real space experience unlike Virgin Galactic, it is said that the company demands approximately 1 million dollars. The SpaceX Dragon Crew journey is estimated at $55 million.
BBC Science Focus gave a short and clear answer on why space tourism is so expensive. It is stated that the biggest factor behind these prices is chemical-based propulsion. The Tsiolkovsky rocket equation reveals that the rocket fuel needed to put a spacecraft into orbit must be 10 to 25 times the mass of that vehicle.
According to this equation, the more weight a spacecraft is loaded, the more fuel is needed. Therefore, a cycle emerges that increases the costs considerably. NASA calls this the “Bullying of the Rocket Equation.”
In addition to fuel costs, building rockets is an expense in itself. It is true that reusable rockets reduce costs, but unfortunately these rockets are not 100 percent reusable. Additionally, carrying crews requires pods that are expensive to build.
There are other issues in the space industry that affect costs. In March, SpaceX announced that it was raising all launch prices due to all-time high fuel prices and inflation. The company’s Falcon 9 launch cost is $67 million, and the cost of the Falcon Heavy mission is $97 million.
As a result, we can show the rocket equation, fuel costs, construction and operating costs, inflation as the reason why space tourism tickets are so expensive. So what do you think about space tourism? You can share your views with us in the comments section or on the SDN Forum.
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