Space Tourism - Unplugged

Of late space tourism has become buzz word for the billionaires of the west. Till now the world has been witnessing a raging competition between nations to stand out as the elitist nation. Revelling in space technology has been an order for various nations of world, as this is an index of nation’s prowess as a technological super power.

Though it might seem to be an excerpt from a Sci-Fi Hollywood Movie, but in real several entrepreneurs are making sustained, individual as well as collaborative efforts to realise the dream of travelling to the void. Ever since the first public announcement for selection of astronauts for the Mars One mission (a non-profit organisation that plans to establish a human settlement on the red planet by 2025), has been made, the company has been flooded with applications from the young and enthusiast adventurers. The private space flight project is leaded by Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp. In 2024, the Mars One intends to send four critically selected crew members to become the first resident of the Mars. Every two years a crew of four members would arrive on Mars. By 2033, there will be over 20 people living and working on Mars.  Every step of the crew is going to be telecast 24X7. Though the Voyage is very arduous, demanding extreme mental poise and physical fitness it hasn’t dampened the tremendous enthusiasm and excitement of the applicants who want to make to the final four crew members of the Mars One project. This project has been endorsed by a Dutch Physicist and a Nobel Prize winner Gerard’t Hooft. His interests include black holes, gauge theory, quantum gravity and fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics. Globally 40,000 thousand applications have been received and there would be four rounds of selections to test for the resilience, creativity, ability to withstand thrust, adaptability and curiosity. The project is going to fly the Space X Falcon which is slated to undergo further tests.

It is indeed amazing to learn about the new renaissance in the space technology aptly described as the “New Space”. The hub of this new revolution is the Mojave Desert in California. It is away from the prying eyes and surrounded by landscape where any crash would not inconvenience anyone except if the pilot fails to eject.  Unlike the massive government funded mission projects to space, New Space includes a special breed of curious and starry- eyed entrepreneurs whose sole motive is to enter the cosmic space and make profit out of it. At present there are 17 rocket and space-related companies that operate in the Air and Space Port of the Mojave town. All the business set-ups have two objectives, firstly to launch commercial satellite and then to enter the exciting trade of space tourism.

Mojave has become the seat of extensive research where companies are vying to develop hybrid rocket engines to carry passenger to the giddy heights of 100 km (which is demarcated as the inner edge of the outer space). Several trials are underway to determine efficiency of fuels, as both the solid and liquid fuels has their own set of limitations. Solid fuelled rockets are easy to handle on ground, but difficult to control in flight as once ignited, their fuel burns until it is exhausted. Liquid fuelled-rockets are other way round and tend to be more powerful. Space Ship Two one such vehicle used best of both the solid propellant and the liquid oxidiser, where the power of the solid fuel can be controlled by altering the oxidiser flow.

The space technology developed by these companies often employs several indigenous techniques. For example the Space Ship Two is an air-launched craft, where the rocket is lifted to an altitude of 15km by a special two-hulled aeroplane, White Knight with a wing span of 43 metres and then released to fend for itself. Series of tests has indicated that this idea works. Scaled Composites, funded by Sir Richard Brason employs a giant version of the White Knight with a wing span of 117 meters, making it the largest aeroplane ever flown.

Lynx another vehicle proposed by Jeff Greason, an engineer who developed the Pentium Microprocessor uses liquid fuelled engines which can takeoff from the runway under its own power. Similarly Stratolaunch Systems, managed by Ruten and Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft) proposes to use the air-launched vehicle. Several engineering giants are now venturing into the space business. Masten Space Systems, creation of David Masten, an engineer intends to mainly focus on the controlled landing in absence of which all the satellites end up in the sea-bed. With controlled landing, hardware will not be lost and hence it can be reused and can be flown over and again. With entry of more companies into space technology rapid advancements are made. For instance, Fire Star technologies are developing a liquid fuel that consists of premixed propellant and oxidiser. This requires only a single tank and no complicated mixing mechanism in the motor thus simplifying the basic engineering designs. Technological improvements imply further simplification and availability of the new technology at much lesser cost on long term.

Mojave is now soon evolving into a cluster of technology where several small and big companies alike are competing and collaborating. Millions are dollars are being pumped into research by the super rich who aim to garner profits through commercial satellite launches and high-end tourism. Companies are making plans to start flights from next year with a single seat costing $250,000. Yet another place in Texas is getting ready to offer a stiff competition to the firms in Mojave. A company Blue Origin floated by Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder which developed a rocket New Shepard named after the Astronaut Alan Shepard. Another by Elon Musk, the man behind Pay Pal whose company Space X stationed in Hawthorne suburb of Los Angeles intends to use Space Pad 39A Kennedy. The liquid fuelled rocket Falcon was already used for resupplying International Space Station. They have even placed two communication satellites into orbit in 2013. In wake of all these developments, if companies get technology right, journey to our nearest neighbours in space may not be distant dream. More over even the foresighted entrepreneurial visionaries might end up making huge gains.

Gone are the days when we awed at the superfluous creations of the extra terrestrial life forms on the big screens but now the much eluding space is going to be a space ship away......

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