ISRO developing capability for space tourism; see 5 major players in this market

New Delhi, July 26: Union Minister Jitendra Singh recently said the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was in the process of developing indigenous capabilities towards space tourism through the demonstration of human space flight capability to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha recently, Jitendra Singh said, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) also seeks to promote active participation of the private sector in carrying out end-to-end space activities, which includes space tourism as well.

With regards to the question on space diplomacy, the Minister said, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) pursues international cooperation and relations with 61 countries in varied domains of space activities.

It may be recalled that the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre [IN-SPACe] has been created as a single window agency, under the Department of Space, to promote, handhold and authorize the activities of the private sector in the space domain, including those by young entrepreneurs and students interested in the field of Space Science.

IN-SPACe will come up with mechanisms to enable sharing of technical facilities and expertise available across ISRO Centres with private entities.

In a related question, Dr Jitendra informed that Department of Space (DOS) is in the process of drafting a comprehensive, integrated Space Policy, which shall provide direction to the activities of private Indian space industry.

Even as the news has made the Indians proud, here we tell you about the five major players in the space tourism market:

Space Adventures, Inc.: It is an American space tourism company founded in 1998 by Eric C. Anderson. Its offerings include zero-gravity atmospheric flights, orbital spaceflights (with the option to participate in a spacewalk), and other spaceflight-related experiences including cosmonaut training, spacewalk training, and launch tours. Nine of its clients have participated in the orbital spaceflight program with Space Adventures, including one who took two separate trips to space.

Virgin Galactic: Virgin Galactic is a spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and his British Virgin Group retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. The company is developing commercial spacecraft and aims to provide suborbital spaceflights to space tourists.

In February 2022, the company announced that it opens ticket sales to the public. The price of a reservation is $450,000. As of November 2021, it had about 700 customers (tickets sold). The company aims to have about 3 launches per month sometime in 2023.

Blue Origin, LLC: It is an American privately funded aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company headquartered in Kent, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive chairman of Amazon, the company is led by CEO Bob Smith and aims to make access to space cheaper and more reliable through reusable launch vehicles.

SpaceX: It is a spacecraft manufacturer, space launch provider, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. SpaceX was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, with the goal of reducing space transportation costs to enable the colonization of Mars. SpaceX manufactures the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles, several rocket engines, Cargo Dragon, crew spacecraft, and Starlink communications satellites.

Boeing: The Boeing is a class of two partially reusable spacecraft designed to transport crew to the International Space Station (ISS) and other low-Earth-orbit destinations. It is manufactured by Boeing for its participation in NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The spacecraft consists of a reusable crew capsule and an expendable service module.