Space tourism as an extreme leisure research object
Abstract. The article discusses the historical stages, typology, legal framework, current trends in space tourism. Space tourism is an important new area, but it raises several issues that need to be addressed, namely the medical implications associated with space travel and the potential ethical issues associated with the safety of such travel. In this article, space tourism is considered from the perspective of the popularization of space, to determine its potential role, with particular emphasis on the possible consequences for the development of space policy. After a preliminary analysis of space tourism and an overview of the technologies needed to implement it, distinguishing between orbital and suborbital flights, the article highlights some of the legal and policy issues associated with this emerging sector and discusses the possible consequences of the commercialization of space. The authors reviewed some of the private companies that are engaged in space tourism. The positive trend and progress made in this area suggests that space tourism can indeed become a factor in the popularization of space. But due to the significant costs for private passengers traveling in and out of Earth`s orbit, orbital space tourism will be out of reach for the general public in the coming decades. Therefore, suborbital space tourism can now be popular.
Keywords: orbital tourism, suborbital flight, space, space tourism, space tourist, NASA
Highlights:
♦ the conceptual apparatus of space tourism is systematized;
♦ 4 stages of the development of space travel have been identified;
♦ the necessity of using manned suborbital aircraft in order to reduce the cost of space services is formulated. In general, the income of orbital space travel by 2030 will be more than 555 million US dollars, which is 1.5 times more than in 2021;
♦ the legislative base of space tourism is analyzed, the trends of further development of space tourism in Russia and the world are revealed.
Anastasya G. Sarafanova, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, Alexander A. Sarafanov, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia