On September 15, 2021, the next batch of space tourists is set to lift off
aboard a SpaceX rocket. Organized and funded by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman,
the Inspiration4 mission touts itself as “the first all-civilian mission to
orbit” and represents a new type of space tourism.
The four crew members will not be the first space tourists this year. In the
past few months, the world witnessed billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff
Bezos launching themselves and a lucky few others into space on brief
suborbital trips. While there are similarities between those launches and
Inspiration4 — the mission is being paid for by one billionaire and is using
a rocket built by another, Elon Musk — the differences are noteworthy. From
my perspective as a space policy expert, the mission’s emphasis on public
involvement and the fact that Inspiration4 will send regular people into
orbit for three days make it a milestone in space tourism.
Why Inspiration4 is different
The biggest difference between Inspiration4 and the flights performed
earlier this year is the destination.
Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic took – and in the future, will take – their
passengers on suborbital launches. Their vehicles only go high enough to
reach the beginning of space before returning to the ground a few minutes
later. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and crew Dragon vehicle, however, are
powerful enough to take the Inspiration4 crew all the way into orbit, where
they will circle the Earth for three days.
The four-person crew is also quite different from the other launches. Led by
Isaacman, the mission features a somewhat diverse group of people. One crew
member, Sian Proctor, won a contest among people who use Isaacman’s online
payment company. Another unique aspect of the mission is that one of its
goals is to raise awareness of and funds for St. Jude Children’s Research
Hospital. As such, Isaacman selected Hayley Arceneaux, a physician’s
assistant at St. Jude and childhood cancer survivor, to participate in the
launch. The final member, Christopher Sembroski, won his seat when his
friend was chosen in a charity raffle for St. Jude and offered his seat to
Sembroski.
Because none of the four participants has any prior formal astronaut
training, the flight has been called the first “all civilian” space mission.
While the rocket and crew capsule are both fully automated – no one on board
will need to control any part of the launch or landing – the four members
still needed to go through much more training than the people on the
suborbital flights. In less than six months, the crew has undergone hours of
simulator training, lessons in flying a jet aircraft and spent time in a
centrifuge to prepare them for the G-forces of launch.
Social outreach has also been an important aspect of the mission. While
Bezos’ and Branson’s flights brought on criticism of billionaire playboys in
space, Inspiration4 has tried – with mixed results – to make space tourism
more relatable. The crew recently appeared on the cover of Time magazine and
is the subject of an ongoing Netflix documentary.
There have also been other fundraising events for St. Jude, including a
4-mile virtual run and the planned auction of beer hops that will be flown
on the mission.
The future of space tourism?
Sending a crew of amateur astronauts into orbit is a significant step in the
development of space tourism. However, despite the more inclusive feel of
the mission, there are still serious barriers to overcome before average
people can go to space.
For one, the cost remains quite high. Though three of the four are not rich,
Isaacman is a billionaire and paid an estimated $200 million to fund the
trip. The need to train for a mission like this also means that prospective
passengers must be able to devote significant amounts of time to prepare –
time that many ordinary people don’t have.
Finally, space remains a dangerous place, and there will never be a way to
fully remove the danger of launching people – whether untrained civilians or
seasoned professional astronauts – into space.
Despite these limitations, orbital space tourism is coming. For SpaceX,
Inspiration4 is an important proof of concept that they hope will further
demonstrate the safety and reliability of their autonomous rocket and
capsule systems. Indeed, SpaceX has several tourist missions planned in the
next few months, even though the company isn’t focused on space tourism.
Some will even includes stops at the International Space Station.
Even as space remains out of reach for most on Earth, Inspiration4 is an
example of how billionaire space barons’ efforts to include more people on
their journeys can give an otherwise exclusive activity a wider public
appeal.
Written by Wendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of Strategy and Security Studies,
US Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies.
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