Joy Ride to the Edge of Space – Fast, Short, Pricey

Much has been made of Sir Richard’s trip to the edge of space. Even with all the testing, the practice runs, the safety protocols, etc., it must have been a heart in the throat, white knuckle trip. The video from the cabin looked like they were having a great time, though. Of course, we didn’t see what the pilots were doing, but passengers looked like they were glad they made the trip. (In Cabin Video, about a minute in is the weightlessness part).

Thinking about that trip, I did some reading on what’s next. Mostly what I found was what’s next for Virgin Galactic and the expected comparisons to Blue Origin. Discussions of space tourism, lowering the costs of tickets, more frequent flights, and, of course, the safety of it all was the predominant material.

But there were a few that branched into sub-orbital transportation. We’re no stranger on this site to discussing suborbital transportation as we addressed this topic back in May (Breakfast in New York – Lunch in Singapore – Dinner in London). To the novice (me), it seems that the Virgin Galactic might have a workable model for small groups of passengers (or those that are reluctant to strap into a rocket).

What I learned was we’re a long way from hypersonic or suborbital transportation. Wired’s interesting article from 2018 summarizes the challenges and where we are relative to past advances in aeronautics and passenger air travel.  Check it out. (Forget supersonic, the future of super-fast flight is sub-orbital)

But what about this concept of a business that takes passengers to space, if even for a short time. Some commentators have objected to billionaires using their wealth to take other wealthy people on a joy ride. One article estimated that Jeff Bezos liquidates $1 Billion in Amazon stock per year to fund Blue Origin (Blue Origin Auctions Seat on Bezos Rocket for $28 Million). Another way of thinking about that is that $1 Billion goes to pay for materials, services, salaries, benefits, etc., for Blue Origin as an enterprise. Further, if Virgin Galactic delivers all its 700 booked flights at $250,000 each, they’ll earn $175 Million. If there’s a profit margin there, isn’t that what commerce is about, finding a product that people will buy. I know it’s not as simple as that, but it’s a conversation to have.

And as far as the joy ride part, consider how much is spent on amusement parks. One estimate has the cost of building Disney World at $6 to $7 Billion in today’s dollars. But I’ve got to tell you, that was money well spent—Disney World is a great trip.

So we can’t all go to space, but some can, and that endeavor employs people in well-paying high-tech jobs. But many of us can go to Disney World, which also supports many well-paying, high-tech jobs.

What do you think? Are the space tourism efforts ill-advised? Does your thinking change if you consider the economic benefits? Are they just souped-up (albeit expensive) amusement park rides?

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blue Origin Update July 26 – A quick update was in order with the launch of Blue Origin’s first passenger-carrying rocket. Certainly, a different way to get to space than Virgin Galactic’s and others can debate if both or either of these trips got the passengers to space or not. Regardless, the Blue Origin launch puts one more private firm in the business of reusable boosters. Say what you will about taking wealthy passengers on joy rides to space (see my comments above). Still, his endeavor should be expected to add to the industry’s abilities in developing hardware, software, and processes needed to make reusable boosters safe and cost-effective.

[Disclaimer: Please accept my apologies for any ads that pop up before the linked videos. They do not reflect my position, nor do I endorse any of the products – it’s just a YouTube thing I can’t get around.]