From national project to private business: The era of space travel is finally upon us

It was in April 1961 that manned space flight, the first time humans reached outer space, was realized. Since then, many astronauts have taken off into space, but all of them were national projects. However, in the 2020s, the first manned space flight in history was finally realized by a private company, and the era of human travel expanding into "space" has finally arrived.

In April 1961, the Soviet Union launched the spacecraft "Vostok," and humans successfully completed the first manned space flight. Yuri Gagarin, who saw the Earth from space for the first time, said after returning to Earth, "The Earth was blue." In July 1969, the lunar lander separated from Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Humans set foot on the moon's ground for the first time. In Stanley Kubrick's worldview, it was thought that space travel would be possible in 2001, but the world's first space travel was actually realized in 2001. American billionaire Dennis Tito boarded the Russian spacecraft "Soyuz" and stayed at the ISS (International Space Station) for seven days. It is said that Tito paid $20 million (about 2.47 billion yen at the time) for the space trip.

The first manned space flight by a private company was realized in May 2020. SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft reached the ISS with two crew members on board. Still, for now, it remains something that only a few wealthy people enjoy as a hobby. This is because the cost of space travel is enormous.

Space travel can be broadly divided into three types of space travel. First, "suborbital travel." This is a trip where you briefly visit outer space on a rocket and immediately return to the ground. It is like throwing a ball on the ground and it falls to the ground in an arc. It crosses the boundaries of space, but does not enter an orbit around the Earth, and travelers can experience the view from space and weightlessness for a few minutes.

Next is "orbital travel." This is a trip that enters an orbit around the Earth, and you stay in space around the Earth, so you can enjoy the scenery from space and the weightlessness for longer than suborbital travel.

Orbital travel will be the basis when space travel becomes common in the future. In Japan, businessman Yusaku Maezawa visited the ISS on an orbital trip and lived with astronauts. In the future, you may be able to enjoy staying in a space hotel or spacewalking.

Finally, there is "deep space travel." This is a trip that goes beyond the Earth's orbit and has destinations such as the Moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies, and in the future, you will be able to enjoy trips to the Moon and Mars. So how long will it take for private citizens to actually be able to travel in space easily? First of all, as of 2024, the cost of space travel varies greatly depending on the type, but the cost of space travel is quite high, ranging from several billion yen for orbital travel that orbits the Earth to tens of millions of yen for suborbital travel that goes into space for a short time, so this cost will need to be about the same as traveling abroad.

The space industry market is expected to grow explosively and expand to 120 trillion yen by 2040, more than double the current size.

In addition, there are detailed health conditions such as age restrictions when actually going on a space trip, and people with high blood pressure (systolic 160mmHg or more, diastolic 95mmHg or more), severe motion sickness, heart, lung, or internal organ diseases, pregnancy, sciatica, hernia, etc. are not allowed, and a medical check and health certificate are required. In addition, prior training is required, such as experiencing the load on your body in a simulated environment. Currently, there are various conditions such as costs, training, and physical examinations, and when these hurdles decrease along with the costs, space travel will become possible like going on a trip abroad. On the other hand, the space industry market continues to grow explosively, and some experts predict that it will expand to 120 trillion yen by 2040, more than double the current size. According to a document released by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the market size of the global travel industry as of 2018 was approximately 968 trillion yen (approximately 8.8 trillion dollars). The travel industry is also a major industry in Japan, where the market size of the Japanese travel industry as of 2018 was approximately 40.6042 trillion yen, the third largest in the world. If the space travel industry is added to this, the industry size will expand even further.

There are already companies offering space travel services both domestically and internationally. Currently, travel services that are moving towards realizing the space business can be broadly divided into the following four types.

❶ Microspace travel where you can experience zero gravity

❷ Space stay travel

❸ Space travel

❹ Migration to the Moon and Mars

Virgin Galactic, a space travel company founded by Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, is one of the early space travel companies. One of Virgin Galactic's business objectives is to "build and launch spacecraft," and in February 2019, they actually launched the VSS Unity, a spacecraft carrying one person other than the pilot, into space. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' aerospace company Blue Origin has a similar business objective to Virgin Galactic, and is developing a space business with the concept of making it cheaper for humans to fly into space, with the current planned fee being $200,000 (approximately 22 million yen) per person.

Space Perspective provides a travel business up to 30 km above the ground using stratospheric balloons and manned capsules. Although they do not reach outer space and cannot experience weightlessness, they are developing a service that can be considered a simulated space trip. The planned fee is $125,000 (approximately 13 million yen) per person.

In Japan, PD Aerospace is also engaged in private-sector-led spacecraft development, developing fully reusable manned and unmanned spacecraft. With funding from ANA Holdings and HIS, the company is developing Shimojishima Airport in Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture, as a "spaceport," aiming to make it a hub for manned space travel in the future.

As space businesses develop both domestically and internationally, space travel is gradually becoming more familiar. It's a growing market to keep an eye on.

Space food, including Nissin Space Cup Noodles, jointly developed by JAXA and Nissin Foods. The noodles can be rehydrated in 70℃ hot water, which can be used on the ISS.

Space travel on the Crew Dragon: An 8-day ISS stay tour to experience life in space

SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, offers an ISS stay tour using the manned spacecraft Crew Dragon, which the company developed. Crew Dragon is launched from the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center, and after docking with the ISS, participants spend 8 days inside the ISS where astronauts are active, before returning to Earth on the Crew Dragon. The tour price has not been made public, but the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) estimates that it will cost about $55 million (about 6 billion yen) per seat.

Space travel on the "Soyuz spacecraft" "10-day ISS stay trip"

Space Adventures offers a 10-day ISS stay trip on the Russian manned spacecraft "Soyuz spacecraft." The Soyuz spacecraft, carrying up to three participants, is launched by a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and docks with the ISS after six hours to two days. Participants stay on the ISS for 10 days and experience life in a zero-gravity environment. The tour price has not been disclosed, but it is thought to be roughly several billion yen.