Discussion of Space Tourism and Commercialization

[Grendal]

The future of human spaceflight safety is in the hands of Congress

Congress has a choice to make this fall: reauthorize the “learning period” putting the nation on a glide path to secure a safety framework commensurate with industry maturity, or allow the “learning period” to expire, which puts the future of commercial human spaceflight – and American...

spacenews.com

 

[JB47394]

An economist's thoughts on the commercialization of space. It only hits the high points, so don't expect a dissertation.

 

[ecarfan]

Thanks for posting that video. Very interesting. The narrator actually calls himself an “actuary”, not an economist.

 

[Grendal]

Axiom Space names crew for third private astronaut mission to ISS

NASA and the other ISS partners have approved the crew of the third private astronaut mission by Axiom Space, scheduled to launch in early 2024.

spacenews.com

 

[JB47394]

This is a fascinating article about enclosed algal systems that are designed to provide a biological basis for a habitable environment for astronauts (food, water, air, medicines, etc.) I love what I'm seeing because it's a system that is carefully controlled, has real legs courtesy of gene modification, and can be tested here on Earth until it's working perfectly - and can undoubtedly be tested remotely on Mars. I've never heard of these sorts of systems, but they've been under development for decades.

What would it take to build a self-sustaining astronaut ecosystem on Mars?

We're getting closer to bioregenerative life-support systems for astronauts.

arstechnica.com

 

[Grendal]

Axiom Space refines training for next private astronaut mission

As Axiom Space gears up for its third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, the company says it has refined the training for it.

spacenews.com

 

[JB47394]

Ellie in Space put together a video showing the witnesses at the recent hearing of the Senate Space and Science Subcommittee about the FAA being short staffed.

The Blue Origin statement got me laughing. The speaker begins with what amounts to an advertisement for Blue Origin, and continues on to cite Blue Origin's accomplishments, focusing on New Shephard and all the people that it has carried, including their demographics. Blue Origin came across as pretty insecure in their position in the industry.

Did he mention the Karman line? Why, yes. Yes, he did. Multiple times.

The gist of all the testimony was that they'd like a one-stop shop for government interaction, and they want proper funding, given all the launch and development activity. Certainly they don't want more restrictive regulations. The Blue Origin guy underscored that "time is money", so the government is materially hurting these organizations with their delays.

 

[JB47394]

A CNBC video about space commercialization. I think this is a compilation of other CNBC videos. There are no surprises for anyone who pays attention to this stuff, but it's always fun to consider the possibilities.

Taken from the top comment on the video:

00:04 Trillionaire potential in space economy
02:28 NASA's spacesuits face funding and safety challenges.
07:06 NASA awards contracts for space suit design and maintenance
09:13 Advancements in spacesuit technology and design for space exploration
14:07 Space commercialization enabling new countries to participate
16:13 International Space Station's future and impact on research
20:23 Privatization of space stations and cost-saving for NASA.
22:20 Axiom plans to use SpaceX for crewed missions to the ISS and aims to build a cheaper space station
25:59 Private sector companies racing to launch commercial space stations before ISS retirement
28:04 China seems to be winning the race for a permanent presence in low Earth orbit and the moon.
32:29 Space mining is a long term endeavor with limited commercial support.
34:39 Space mining goes beyond precious metals to include valuable materials like water and helium.
38:37 Space mining company TransAstra is developing technology and securing contracts for its space missions.
40:35 Space mining technology and its potential impact on Earth
44:15 Space mining laws are unclear and vary by country
46:17 Asteroid mining poses challenges in resource identification and market impact

 

[Grendal]

Vast seeks to bid on future ISS private astronaut missions

Commercial space station developer Vast Space says it plans to bid on two future NASA private astronaut missions to the International Space Station.

spacenews.com

 

[JB47394]

A bit more on Vast. They're working to fly a single-module station that squeezes into the Falcon 9 fairing. Targeting the second half of 2025 for launch.

VAST Announces the Haven-1 and VAST-1 Missions. — VAST

Scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1 and subsequent human spaceflight missions will accelerate access to space exploration.

www.vastspace.com

 

[EVCollies]

A bit more on Vast. They're working to fly a single-module station that squeezes into the Falcon 9 fairing. Targeting the second half of 2025 for launch.

VAST Announces the Haven-1 and VAST-1 Missions. — VAST

Scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1 and subsequent human spaceflight missions will accelerate access to space exploration.

www.vastspace.com

Dang, this is starting to look real! After so many teasers and mock ups that never seem to happen, this will actually happen.

If they could get the cost down on Haven-1, I could see large companies securing one for their R&D labs with crew rotation every month.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Man Falcon 9 does everything doesn’t it? Even hurling up space stations. Imagine how much more Starship will enable!

 

[scaesare]

I just recently watched Tim Dodd's comparison of current launchers, and Falcon Heavy is more than competitive than the other heavy launchers on just about everything except fairing volume, although he notes that a stretched version may be coming soon...

Imagine what they could put up on a FH with 2-3X the payload volume.

 

[ecarfan]

Imagine what they could put up on a FH with 2-3X the payload volume.

An LEO space station comprised of multiple modules with more habitable volume than the ISS for a launch cost of less than $500 million, perhaps? (Assuming 4 launches)

But is there a profitable business in operating an LEO hotel for extremely wealthy people even if it could be built for a total cost of $1 billion? I am skeptical.

Are there other commercial purposes for a large LEO station that could make it profitable? I’m skeptical.

I think we have to wait for low cost fully reusable Starship launches at say $15 million each for there to be a reasonable chance that a large LEO station would be viable. Maybe.

 

[JB47394]

Are there other commercial purposes for a large LEO station that could make it profitable?

The one that gets mentioned a bunch is microgravity manufacturing. That single-module station would be great for sending up materials experiments to see if some kind of super-material could be created. That could trigger a serious gold rush. They've done stuff on the ISS, but there haven't been any big headlines about breakthroughs.

With more casual access to such experiments, a wider range of materials could be checked. Universities and other research organizations could be sending up all manner of experiments.

 

[ecarfan]

I think we have to wait for low cost fully reusable Starship launches at say $15 million each for there to be a reasonable chance that a large LEO station would be viable. Maybe.

This calculation could change if, after the ISS is deorbited (current plan is for that to happen in 2031) NASA has the budget and the interest at that point in continuing its activities in LEO on a commercially run station. Whether Congress would fund that or not is an open question. My open question is, what useful purpose would it serve to spend several hundred million dollars annually to do that.

Congress could be persuaded to do so by the Chinese having a permanently inhabited station (as they currently do) but that is not a sufficient reason in my opinion. However, do not underestimate the power of “national pride”.

 

[JB47394]

Congress could be persuaded to do so by the Chinese having a permanently inhabited station (as they currently do) but that is not a sufficient reason in my opinion. However, do not underestimate the power of “national pride”.

The only reasons that we have right now are basic research and national prestige. I think that commercial stations from US companies would suffice for national prestige, and NASA can use those stations for its research. The perpetual hope is that the research will turn up something that can be produced at a significant profit.

 

[Grendal]

 

[Grendal]

SpaceX is bypassing Axiom and doing it themselves too. Go down to the "Our Missions" spot and there is now a "Join A Mission" button.

SpaceX

SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft.

www.spacex.com

 

[ecarfan]

Wonderful photo on that page of what I assume is an Inspiration 4 mission crew member using their iPhone to take a photo of Earth through the Dragon dome window! And also a video showing the reaction of the crew when looking out the dome. Hayley seems overcome with wonder. I’d probably be crying.