GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT By Douglas Helm 4/19/2022
It seems the four space tourists who recently went to the International Space Station are going to have to extend their space vacation a little longer. Earlier this month, a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully launched three passengers and a former NASA astronaut into orbit. This marked the first time that an all-private crew funded by private companies went to the ISS. The mission was put together by SpaceX and Axiom Space and was meant to go for ten days. It looks like the mission has now been extended to about 12 days instead.
Fortunately, it looks like the private crew aboard the International Space Station isn’t too broken up about the development. In fact, during a live-streamed event where the crew answered questions from kids at NASA’s Space Center in Houston, they mentioned that they would be willing to go to the Moon next. While the Moon is a much bigger and costlier target than the International Space Station, this is undoubtedly the way that space tourism is heading. The crew members aboard the current mission around spent a whopping $55 million per person to head up to the ISS, so the cost of the Moon trip would presumably be a lot higher. Plus, there isn’t currently a spacecraft ready to take civilians to the Moon. So, it looks like these eager tourists will just have to enjoy the two extra space days they’re getting.
As of now, the private crew on the International Space Station is scheduled to undock on Tuesday and land in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. A successful landing will mark the end of the first all-private, private-funded voyage and will help prove the possibilities of the rapidly developing space tourism industry. Axiom Space, one of the companies behind this mission, is even keen to develop a space station of its own. While visiting the ISS must be one of the coolest experiences out there, the station is designed for research, observation, and exploration. Presumably, the Axiom station will be designed with tourism in mind, making it quite a different experience than the ISS. Hopefully, they won’t be charging $55 million dollars a trip by then.
More:
https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/space-station-passengers-stranded.html
