Space travel for the super-rich

A space revolution is happening out there. A list which includes 565 names at the moment shows the number of people flown to space, and this number is going to get bigger. It seems that ordinary people will soon experience something that was reserved for astronauts only. We do not need to get excited, though, since this list is not going to expand that quickly, as space travel is so expensive that it will probably remain expensive for the average Joe for a very long time.

A stay on the International Space Station (ISS) costs tens of millions of dollars. So far, only seven citizens have stayed in the ISS. For instance, Guy Laliberte paid $35 million to spend a couple of weeks in space. Since NASA announced it would open the US section of the ISS to space tourists, a company called Bigelow Aerospace has provided the ticket for the experience for $52 million a seat. There are also cheap flights into the upper atmosphere for about $200,000 each.

The figures seem daunting, as the vast majority of people, even millionaires, cannot afford such tickets. Plus, even though these attempts at space tourism sound like investments in the space industry, ordinary people might feel resentful towards such activities, as they might feel marginalised and see the huge wealth gap in society. Some analysts predict that space tourism flights will become less expensive, since the price of most technologies, from commercial aircraft to television sets, drastically declines over time.