Floating in zero gravity, starring at Earth from space—Sunita Williams believed in 2016 that more people traveling to space would change perspectives on our planet.
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00:00I think more and more people going to space and having that view is just gonna help all
00:05of us around the world because you'll get a different perspective.
00:08That's NASA astronaut Sunita Williams talking about space tourism back in 2016.
00:13Space tourism is commercial travel beyond Earth for a brief, thrilling experience of
00:17weightlessness and stunning views.
00:19Thanks to Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX,
00:25a tour of space is becoming as easy as boarding a flight.
00:28But how much will it cost for a common man to do it?
00:31And what are the dangers involved?
00:33The process starts with training aspiring space tourists who undergo a few days of preparation
00:38which includes learning safety protocols, experiencing high g-forces in a simulator,
00:43practicing weightlessness in zero-gravity flights.
00:46After training, passengers are launched 80-100 km above Earth,
00:50crossing the Karman line, the edge of space.
00:52Passengers experience a few minutes of weightlessness
00:55and breathtaking views of Earth before descending back.
00:58This once-in-a-lifetime experience comes with a hefty price tag.
01:02Virgin Galactic around $450,000 per seat which is approximately 3.75 crores.
01:08Blue Origin estimated $250,000 to $1 million which is approximately 2.1 crores to 8.3 crore rupees.
01:16SpaceX for multi-day orbital trips costs about $55 million which is approximately 460 crore rupees.
01:23Sub-orbital flights like those by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic
01:26last about 10-15 minutes while orbital trips like SpaceX missions can last several days to a few weeks.
01:32The first ever space tourist was Dennis Tito, an American entrepreneur who paid $20 million,
01:38approximately 166 crore rupees in today's value,
01:41in 2001 to visit the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.
01:46In 2021, Richard Branson became the first billionaire to reach space
01:50on his own Virgin Galactic flight VSS Unity on July 11, 2021.
01:57On 19th May 2024, Gopi Thotakura became India's first space tourist taking Blue
02:03Origin's New Shepherd spacecraft for a 10-minute sub-orbital flight alongside five other passengers.
02:08By 2033, the global space tourism market is expected to grow to $28.48 billion.
02:14Innovations like AI-powered booking systems,
02:17virtual reality previews and orbital resorts will transform how we experience space.