Man's dream of going into space has never stopped; In ancient ages, man tried to fly by imitating birds until he reached, in modern ages, to make airplanes, then missiles and spacecraft.

In the twenty-first century, private companies began to be interested in making going to space a type of tourism, and these companies are led by the world's most famous billionaires such as Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos) has launched several flights that have taken people more than 100 km into space and then back. Virgin Galactic was the first to launch a tourist space flight in 2021, reaching an altitude of between 80 and 90 km.

What is space tourism?

Space tourism is space travel for entertainment, professional, or promotional purposes. Space begins after a height of 80 km from the sea level, which is known as the Carmen Line. It is sufficient for a person to cross this barrier to say that he has reached outer space and left the Earth. This tourism can be classified into three types:

1- Suborbital space flights

It is the most popular so far, in which the spacecraft crosses the Earth's atmosphere to reach space, where tourists enjoy a few minutes of experiencing weightlessness in space, and then the spacecraft returns to land on Earth.

2- Orbital space flights (orbiting the Earth)

It takes not a few minutes, but a few days, during which the vehicle reaches orbit (above 100 km) and begins to orbit around the Earth at high speeds like satellites, and then returns to Earth, and these flights are still in preparation phase..

3- Planetary and space stations missions

It is about traveling to a space station or to the moon or planets such as Mars, and tourists are transported there to experience life on the surface of the moon or Mars. These are big projects. Elon Musk is working to make SpaceX send humans to Mars. for trips to the International Space Station, SpaceX has made many in recent years, and Boeing is planning similar trips.

What are the most prominent companies working in the field of space tourism?

1-Blue Origin: An American company founded in 2000 by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The company offers suborbital trips in which tourists reach the frontiers of outer space and then return. The company has conducted several successful manned flights aboard the New Shepard spacecraft and is now building a new vehicle whose goal is to transport tourists to the moon.

2- Virgin Galactic: An American company founded in 2004 by billionaire Richard Branson. The company offers short suborbital trips to the frontiers of outer space and was the first company to undertake a tourist trip into space whose vehicle reached an altitude of between 80 and 90 km.

3- SpaceX: An American company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk. Musk aims to send humans to Mars and has undertaken several long missions that have delivered astronauts and equipment to the International Space Station at an altitude of 400 km.

4- Space Perspective Company: which is working on a large capsule carried by a special space balloon that it plans to launch in 2024. It will not reach outer space, but it will rise higher than regular flights so that travelers can enjoy long periods of space contemplation and relaxation at a high altitude between 32 and 40 km but without experiencing the feeling of zero gravity.

There are many other companies working in this field that have not yet conducted manned flights, but are preparing to do so, including famous aerospace companies such as: Boeing, which is preparing to launch its spacecraft to the International Space Station; And the European company (Airbus Space), which works on manufacturing its vehicles for suborbital flights; Axiom Space, an American company founded in 2016 and working to build a private space station; Sierra Nevada is an American company founded in 1963 that works to build spacecraft for short suborbital flights.

Challenges of space tourism

Space Flights are still very expensive, and prices vary from one company to another depending on the duration of the trip and the services provided, ranging from $250,000 per person to several million dollars.

In addition to the high price, it is still not considered safe enough. To reassure tourists, Jeff Bezos boarded Blue Origin's first flight, but the New Shepard spacecraft was involved in an accident during an unmanned experiment in 2021, causing the company to stop sending flights for 15 months, which increases fears of this adventure in the short term.

The sponsors of this tourism expect that it will grow in the coming years to become accessible to a larger number of people. Working to reuse parts of the spacecraft and increasing its capacity leads to reducing costs and making it available to a greater number of people who wait to try such space experience.