Space tourism market to grow 29% until 2029: Study

By Eda Ozdener

ISTANBUL (AA) - The space tourism market is expected to grow 29% until 2029, a new report by a Türkiye-based research center said.

Total revenues from the space tourism market are expected to grow to $4 billion by 2030, the Tourism Strategy and Research Center (TURSAM) said in the report.

Space tourism offers earth-based simulations and experiences.

Before starting a space tour, participants have to take educational and fitness tests.

A space tourist is different from an astronaut as they travel for entertainment, and not professional activities.

There are two ways to travel into space: Low earth orbit flights and sub-orbital flights.

Orbital space flights are currently only possible with the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Russia launches Soyuz into space to provide supplies to the International Space Station two times a year for only two people.

Currently, there is no spacecraft for sub-orbital flights. However, American rocket engine maker XCOR is developing SpaceShipTwo spacecraft for these kind of flights which are designed to take six passengers into space at a time.

The cost of traveling to space with SpaceShipTwo is $200,000 per flight. More than 200 people have made pre-payment to fly this spaceship.

A space hotel is also on the cards. Orion Span intends to be the first luxury space hotel in orbit 200 miles above the earth's surface.

The cost of staying in the first space hotel, where luxury accommodations for six people, two of them for crew and four for guests, will start at $9.5 million per person.

All these enterprises were founded not only for space tourism, but also for the purpose of space exploration and scientific research.

As it is quite expensive to develop the existing technology, the plan is to make money through tourism.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas in Istanbul