June 29th 2023.
The recent tragedy of the submersible imploding near the wreckage of the Titanic has raised fresh concerns about the safety of space tourism. What makes billionaires so eager to sign waivers on their lives and leave the planet to the edge of space or the depths of the ocean?
The answer is simple: because they can. But why not pursue less risky activities, like relaxing on their million-pound yachts? Just days after the tragedy, three people are gearing up to get into a vessel that will take them to the edge of space, although none of them are billionaires.
Their host is Virgin Galactic, which plans to take its first paying passengers into space today. The company made its debut back in 2021, with founder Sir Richard Branson on board. The flight was mostly successful, but the American Federal Aviation Administration had a problem with their deviation from the flight plan and grounded them for a short time.
Sir Richard has been criticised for continuing the flight in the wake of the tragedy, but space tourism is still a rapidly growing industry. Companies like Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin are offering suborbital flights to customers.
Virgin Galactic has already sold more than 600 tickets for its suborbital flights that reach altitudes of up to 62 miles - considered the boundary of space. While these flights are not as dangerous as spaceflights that actually go into outer space, they still carry a degree of risk. In 2014, one pilot was killed and another severely injured during a test flight of Virgin Galactic’s space plane.
Blue Origin also had an accident in 2019, when a rocket exploded during a test flight, although no one was injured. These incidents have raised questions about the safety regulations governing space tourism companies. Currently, there are no federal regulations explicitly governing commercial space tourism. Passengers must sign a waiver and be made aware of the risks, much like skydivers or bungee jumpers.
The industry justifies such loose regulations, claiming it's still in a ‘learning period’, experimenting with new kinds of rockets and spacecraft. Supporters argue that the industry needs to be allowed to innovate without being stifled by regulations. Critics, however, call this approach irresponsible and say it puts passengers at risk.
Humans have always pursued risky travel, whether climbing Mount Everest or undertaking unforgiving expeditions to the Antarctic. These travels are usually funded by wealthy thrill seekers who sometimes join them with little to no expertise.
The future of space tourism is still being fuelled by the billionaire space race, and it is an industry that analysts say could be worth nearly $8billion by 2030. The Titanic sub disaster could be the wake-up call needed for the FAA to allow the moratorium to expire and start imposing regulations on the industry.
Despite the risks, people will continue to get on risky flights if they can afford it. Virgin Galactic is taking extra caution for the launch today, but one thing is certain: the space race isn't over yet.
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