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 these 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. However, 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, there is "suborbital travel." This is a trip that briefly visits outer space on a rocket and then immediately returns to Earth. 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, so 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 stays in space around the Earth, so travelers can enjoy the view from space and 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 is living with astronauts. In the future, we 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, we 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 it is still quite expensive, ranging from several billion yen for orbital travel that orbits the Earth to tens of millions of yen for suborbital travel that is launched into space for a short period of time, so it would be necessary for the cost to be about the same as traveling abroad.
