[Reading Science] Billionaires Who Went to Space First... How Much Does It Cost? (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] With the successful space travel of British billionaire Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Galactic, the era of commercial space tourism is expected to officially begin. On the morning of the 11th at around 7:40 AM (U.S. West Coast time), Branson boarded the spaceplane 'VSS Unity,' carried by the mothership 'VMS Eve,' and took off from the Spaceport America space center in New Mexico, USA, returning safely to the ground about an hour later.

In the 'Three Kingdoms' of billionaires competing over space tourism, including Jeff Bezos, chairman of Amazon, and Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, Branson, the eldest at 71 years old, appears to have taken the lead. However, the commercial space tourism era, which is just beginning, faces the challenge of attracting the general public by minimizing costs and enhancing safety. Currently, the technology level requires at least hundreds of millions to several billions of won and carries relatively high risks, making participation possible only for adventurous 'chaebol-level' billionaires.

◇ The Most Basic Form

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

A total of six people boarded the VSS Unity with Branson. Branson, two Virgin Galactic pilots, and three executives embarked on the space tourism experience. The spacecraft has a total capacity of eight, but two seats were left empty during departure. Although Branson is elderly, turning 71 on the 18th, he appeared full of vitality. In his astronaut log, he wrote 'Astronaut Double-oh one. License to thrill,' like the British spy movie character '007' James Bond. As you know, 007’s code name is 'Double-oh Seven,' and he has a license to kill.

The way Branson traveled to space that day was the most basic form of space tourism. The mothership 'VMS Eve' carried 'Unity' under its fuselage up to 8.5 miles (13.6 km) altitude, then released Unity, which flew toward the edge of space at Mach 3, three times the speed of sound, ascending to 55 miles (88.5 km) altitude and experienced about four minutes of 'microgravity.' He recalled that moment as "like magic." He must have also observed views of Earth and space.

However, there is controversy. According to European standards, space is defined as above 100 km altitude (the Karman line), so some argue that Virgin Galactic’s method cannot be considered true space tourism. However, NASA uses 80 km altitude as the boundary of space, so there is a counterargument that there is no problem.

◇ The 9th Private Space Traveler

Branson is not the first private space traveler. According to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the first private space traveler, meaning someone who paid to enjoy space travel, was American billionaire Dennis Tito. Tito, who worked as an engineer at NASA and became a billionaire through business success, paid $20 million to the Russian Federal Space Agency in April 2001 and boarded Soyuz TM-32, becoming the first private individual to visit the ISS, staying for 7 days, 22 hours, and 4 minutes before safely returning to Earth. Since then, Russia has contracted with the U.S. space tourism company Space Adventures to accept seven private travelers, including Canadian billionaire Guy Lalibert?, to the ISS. British world-renowned popera singer Sarah Brightman planned to be the 8th space tourist and perform in space but reportedly gave up during training.

◇ The Intensifying Billionaires’ Space Tourism Three Kingdoms

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Jeff Bezos, chairman of Amazon, will also head to space on the 20th. He plans to board the 'New Shepard' rocket launched by his space company 'Blue Origin,' which he established to commercialize space travel, on the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. This spacecraft uses a ballistic rocket method, where a capsule carrying up to six space tourists is launched to 76 km altitude, then separates and ascends to 100 km altitude by inertia, allowing passengers to tour space and Earth during free fall. Bezos will board with his brother Mark Bezos and others. Notably, one passenger whose identity remains undisclosed will accompany them; this individual reportedly paid a whopping $28 million through auction for the trip, attracting attention. Blue Origin has yet to reveal this passenger’s identity.

Elon Musk, the eccentric genius and Tesla chairman, founded the private space company SpaceX in 2012 and has been investing heavily in space development. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule are currently the most cost-effective spacecraft worldwide. They are developing the SpaceShip equipped with ultra-powerful engines for Mars exploration but have faced difficulties due to about ten explosion accidents. SpaceX plans to conduct low Earth orbit trips in September and commercialize them, launching moon travel packages from 2023. Japanese artist Yusaku Maezawa is known as the first passenger, drawing interest. They are also developing products to send tourists to the International Space Station (ISS) in cooperation with NASA. Regarding this, NASA held a press conference in June two years ago, announcing plans to accommodate private space travelers on the ISS. NASA has also challenged itself to build a city of 80,000 people on Mars by 2050.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

◇ Cost and Safety Are Key

However, space travel is likely to remain the exclusive domain of billionaires for the time being. Cost and safety are the key factors. Even suborbital trips, which last only a few minutes and offer a taste of space, require at least hundreds of thousands of dollars. Specifically, Virgin Galactic has set ticket prices at $250,000 per person. Blue Origin is also known to plan charges in the hundreds of thousands of dollars range. SpaceX’s Earth orbit trips are expected to be even more expensive.

The reason for the high ticket prices is the enormous cost of launching spacecraft. Currently, the cost of launching a spacecraft once for satellite deployment is around 100 billion won. The cost to send 1 kg to space is about 20 million won. The astronomical costs NASA and SpaceX revealed in June 2019 when announcing plans to open the ISS to private individuals give an idea: NASA announced round-trip transportation costs of 68.8 billion won ($58 million) and accommodation fees of 42.2 million won ($35,000) per night.

As a result, some are considering 'alternatives.' The U.S. space company Orion Span announced the 'Aurora Station' project in 2018, aiming to launch a space hotel measuring 13.3 m long and 4.3 m wide to allow long-term stays in space as a substitute for the very expensive ISS. The plan is for two crew members and four passengers to experience space for 12 days in orbit about 320 km above Earth. However, the cost is $9.5 million (about 11 billion won), making it somewhat weak as an alternative. Additionally, Germany’s PC-Aero is developing a solar-powered airplane (Solar Stratos) that travels about 15 minutes in the stratosphere at 24 km altitude, targeting a niche market.

Private space development companies are striving to reduce costs by reusing rockets and capsules and using clean, low-cost fuels.

Safety is also a crucial issue. Virgin Galactic has been pushing for commercial space travel since 2004 but only succeeded in its first flight recently due to fatal accidents in 2007 and 2014, making it difficult to overcome safety challenges. SpaceX’s SpaceShip, developed for Mars travel, has faced difficulties due to repeated explosions. Blue Origin has fallen behind Virgin Galactic and SpaceX in the space tourism 'Three Kingdoms' due to long development times for new rockets caused by safety issues. Even NASA, boasting top technology, once abandoned its space shuttle project due to frequent explosion accidents.