Two Views of Space Tourism

1
Two Views of Space Tourism A New Perspective

• Presentation to the RLV Working Group
• Michael S. Kelly

2
Burt Rutans Seminal Observations

• The markets for a future Personal Spaceflight
  industry (access to flight above the atmosphere
  by the public) will likely take on two basic
  forms
• The first is a scenario in which commercial
  companies develop lower-cost versions of the
  classic government booster and spacecraft
  concepts and then conduct commercial flights that
  are funded by passenger ticket sales. This first
  scenario's approach will result in a very limited
  market whose size will depend somewhat on the
  ticket prices. 
• The second is a scenario in which the players do
  not find the dangers of space flight acceptable
  and recognize that extensive improvements in
  safety are more important than extensive
  improvements in affordability. . . It is likely
  that systems that come from this approach will be
  more like airplanes and will operate more like
  airplanes than the historic systems used for
  government manned spaceflight.

3
Comparisons and Issues Raised

• The Adventure Approach
• Intended to Jump Start the Industry
• Will it Really Do So?
• Is the (High?) Risk Adventure Market Large
  Enough, at a Sufficient Price Point, to Get
  Things Started?
• Is (High?) Risk Adventure the Way the Industry
  Wishes to Portray Itself?
• Perpetuates the Right Stuff Image of Space
  Flight, Albeit Opening it to the General Public

• The Airline Approach
• Intended to Start the Industry as Safety Mature
  From the Outset
• Is That Possible?
• Is the Investment Base Sufficient to Support the
  Larger Up-Front Cost of Providing Safety Maturity
• Is Airline-like Safety Possible for Space Flight?
• Is it Necessary?
• Does the Public Require This Level of Safety, or
  are People Willing to Take Calculated Risk (as
  They do Every Single Day. . .)?