The Significance Of Outer Space Tourism Marketing Essay

The Significance Of Outer Space Tourism Marketing Essay Outer space tourism is not such a novel idea, after all. In 1954 Thomas Cook of Great Britain offered a Moon Register. Potential space tourists could purchase options on the earliest available commercial lunar tour, and more than one thousand people signed up, although Cook reportedly did no advertising (Eilingsfeld and Abitzsch, Space Tourism, 1993, 1). In 1968, after the motion picture 2001: A Space Odyssey excited the public imagination about space, airlines such as Pan American (Pan Am) and Trans World Airline (TWA) began taking reservations for trips to the moon. A paltry $5 got you a spot on the waiting list (Anderson, Space Tourists, 2005, 11). The only outer space tourists to date were Dennis Tito in 2001 and Mark Shuttleworth in 2002. In 2003, Russian space officials and employees at Space Adventures announced plans to send four tourists to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz missions by 2007 (Anderson, Space Tourists, 2005, 15) Travelling to space is not exactly a stroll to the park, but it is no longer a journey confined to the imagination, either. Knowledgeable instructors are ready and willing to help, advanced simulators are accessible, spaceports abound, and new spacecraft are making the trip easier and more comfortable than before {Space Tourists, 12) Near-term projections for the emergence of a viable outer space tourism industry are very encouraging, taken at face value. Near-term projections for the emergence of a viable outer space tourism industry are very encouraging, taken at face value. Virgin Galactic has purchased five spacecraft for $120 million from space pioneer Burt Rutan, and expects to begin operations in 2008. Virgin Galactic sources claim that 38,000 people have paid deposits towards the $120,000 ticket, and that ninety passengers have paid in full in advance (Radliffe, The News, 2006, 3). According to another report, it aims to eventually launch 10,000 passengers into space each Year (Webb, Spaceports Next, 2006, Al). By 2020 there might be 430 such tlights annually, according to one study, creating $550 million to one billion dollars in local revenue and 4,000 jobs. This estimate excludes the employment of 2,500 construction workers generating about $350 million in local spending during the building of the spaceport (Webb, Spaceports Next, 2006, A2). Collins et. al (1995) claimed that if costs per person were in the $10,000-20,000 range, approximately 100 million people in Japan, the U. S. and Europe would be willing outer space tourists (Demand for, 3). The Futron Corporation (2002) analysis. Space Tourism Market Study, decided that by 2021, there couid be 15,000 outer space tourists annually, resuiting in $700 million in revenue (2). Tens of millions of private citizens in the United States want to travel into space, far more if the global market is addressed, Aldrin and Jones (2002) suggested (Changing the, In Hudgins, Space, 180). Spencer and Rugg (2004) predicted {Space Tourism, 56). Edward L. Hudgins, one of the most esteemed individuals involved in outer space activity, concluded that Space tourism indeed seems to be a potential killer application that will offer opportunities and incentives to the private sector to develop low-cost access to space and places in orbit for private adventurers to go (Space, 2002, xxi). It has been concluded that the main barrier to outer space tourism demand is the price point, while the major barrier to supply is start-up cost. With current technology and systems, space flight is too expensive for most people. However, adequately capitalized space tourism firms could begin operations gradually, and over time expand operations to the point where per-person prices would be more affordable. The key to adequate capitalization may well be investor relations, since existing space tourism firms have found it difficult to attract sufficient capital for start-up needs Another expert analysis offered a rather gloomy conclusion, Unfortunately, the present tight payload market and the glut of existing launch vehicles means that any space launch new start-up is doomed to encounter serious difficulty in raising venture capital One thing is certain. The very future of the outer space tourism industry may depend on public relations, including Promotion, Marketing Public Relations, Lobbying, Investor Relations, Coalition-Building, Crisis Communication and Public Information. A ZOOM WITH A VIEW Space tourism may be closer than you think By David Wade TEN YEARS AGO, SPACE TOURISM was the stuff of fantasy. Not anymore. Already three tourists have paid $20m (Â £12m) each to spend a week aboard the International Space Station (ISS), with many more waiting their turn. You dont have a spare $20m? No matter. Other, more modestly priced options are currently in development, but youll have to join the queue of 34,000 other would-be astronauts. Lets assume that money is no object when it comes to booking your own trip into space. Would you really want to just visit the ISS? After all, three tourists have already beaten you to it. How about a vacation that is truly unique? The Russian Space Agency and the Space Adventures travel company recently announced that they could arrange a tourist flight which will circumnavigate the Moon en route to the ISS. The price for the two seats available on this inimitable voyage is $100m (Â £60m) apiece! Better start saving now. WINNING THE PRIZE On 4 October 2004, the 47th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1, SpaceShipOne was released at a height of 15km from its White Knight carrier aircraft. 76,000 Newtons of thrust, applied for 84s, then propelled SpaceShipOne to a speed in excess of Mach 3. At an altitude of around 80km, the crafts motor cut out, leaving it to continue, without power, to the apex of its trajectory a height of over 112km. To the astonishment of a watching world, the X-Prize competition had been won. The rules of the X-Prize competition were exacting in the extreme stipulating, among other demands, two 100km-high flights to be completed within a fortnight, a vehicle capable of carrying three people (or at least ballast sufficient to represent three people), and no more than 10% of the dry mass of the vehicle to be replaced between flights. Twenty-six teams registered an initial interest in competing for the prize, with many proposing extremely outlandish designs, including plans to modify fighter aircraft and the use of vertical take-off and landing. In contrast Burt Rutan, the designer of SpaceShipOne, backed by his Scaled Composites team, opted for an approach that was both elegant and simple. Rutans first decision was to go for an airlaunch (from the White Knight carrier aircraft) saving on fuel and dispensing with the need for a launch pad. His second crucial design decision was to use a hybrid rocket motor. THE MASS MARKET The objective of the X-Prize had been to kick-start space tourism following the example of early aviation prizes. The business still has a long way to go, but its on its way. Virgin Galactic, unveiled by Sir Richard Branson, is a service company that will operate a fleet of SpaceShipTwo vehicles, each carrying five fare-paying passengers. The company is already attracting attention, despite the first flight not being scheduled until 2008. So far, over 34,000 people have registered an interest in the $200,000 (Â £120,000) flights, and over $10m (Â £6m) of hard cash has been paid as deposits. Fortunately, the prospects for space tourism do not depend on anyone winning the ASP. The flight of SpaceShipOne and the establishment of Virgin Galactic have opened our eyes to the possibilities of commercial human spaceflight. Consumer demand is now expected to start to drive technological progress as much as competitions, just as it did in the aviation industry. The space tourism business is now firmly into first gear, and will just keep on gathering momentum. David Wade is a Lloyds satellite underwriter and specialist space writer GATEWAYS TO THE STARS worlds first private commercial spaceport in New Mexico Spaceport America will serve clients of Virgin Galactic, who have signed a 20-year lease on the building and have been involved in the design and construction phase. Its astronaut passengers will pay $200,000 a ticket for a threeday event, culminating in a two-hour flight to suborbital space, reaching 110km above the surface at the apogeeTo date, over 450 deposits have been received from people aged from 18 to 80 plus from all over the globe. All have passed medicals; many are wealthy, but not all; and they range from single individuals to whole families. Of Virgins first 100 customers the Founder group 81 have already taken part in centrifuge training that replicates the G-forces expected in flight Commercialization in Space Changing Boundaries and Future Promises ANTHONY L. VELOCCI, JR The concept of private enterprise exploiting space to build and grow thriving business ventures is nothing new. It has been around since 1965. Today, the commercial utilization of space is an essential component of telecommunications, financial markets, and a host of other critical sectors. But now the private sectors involvement in space is fast approaching a new paradigm, courtesy of a growing number of entrepreneurial pioneers, mostly in the United States. They are combining a vision, a can-do spirit and varying degrees of technical knowledge to set the agenda. A few of them-each a high-profile figure in aerospace circles who have a track record of disruptive innovations and self-promotion-have been claiming for a decade that commercial space was on the cusp of a new paradigm, but it never quite materialized. That is about to change, and a new era in commercial space is dawning. This is the decade in which skeptics will witness various firsts in commercial space. The Players That the private sector is pushing the boundaries and are on the threshold of achieving what amounts to a critical mass should come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying close attention. Enabling technologies, such as propulsion and aerodynamics, have made huge advances to the point where they can now be adapted to commercial ventures. The private sector also possesses the know-how developed over decades of collaborating with the government on manned and unmanned systems designed specially for space. Just as the idea of space tourism was unimaginable 50 years ago except to science fiction writers, the evolutionary paths that commercial space could take in the next decade or two might seem equally far-fetched. But the projects currently taking shape are no fantasy. Even the most well-grounded space program veterans agree that space tourism-among other bold new commercial space ventures-is likely to emerge as a niche but growing industry within the next 10 years. Like any nascent field of commerce, space tourism will begin modestly. As it now appears. Virgin Galactic, a spin-off of Richard Bransons Virgin Group, is apt to lead the way. Within the next year or two, a Virgin Galactic Spaceship will be carried alofr underneath a large aircrafr flying high above the ground. After it is released, the unusual looking craft will fall freely to a safe altitude and ignite its rocket engine to transport eight people on a brief excursion to the edge of space. Two of them will be pilots; the other six will be paying customers. In the meantime, scientists and would-be space tourists are taking a short course in suburban Philadelphia to learn what they open for business before the end of the decade. Orbital is collaborating with Russian space agency Roscosmos and Rocket and Space Corp., Energia to develop the Commercial Space Station (CSS), with financing f^rom private investors. The company is working with Vienna-based Space Adventures to market flights to the CSS, with prices comparable to flying tourists to the International Space Station (ISS)-US$50-60 miUion. That is the same price as top-of-the-line business jets, such as the Gulfstream 650 or the Bombardier Global Express. The commercialization of space is a fait accompli, and the thing that will change the whole equation is [space] tourism to low-Earth orbit, with revenue passengers circling our planet for a couple of days experiencing weighdessness and photographing Earth, says futurist Norman R. Augustine. Space Branding The end of the space shuttle era marks a new beginning for the Space Age. A new Generation of entrepreneurs are working with the worlds space agencies to bring down the costs of commercializing the high frontier. By the 2020s and beyond,we could see a historic expansion of human activity in space. The range of new commercial space businesses seems to be expanding almost Exponentially. To date, space tourism has been limited to an elite few. The space tourism company Space Adventures has flown a total of seven commercial passengers to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz spacecraft. This level of exclusivity is about to change. In 2012, Virgin Galactic is scheduled to begin suborbital passenger flights, and Bigelow Aerospace plans to have its orbiting hotel operational that same year. Its anticipated there will be significant growth of commercial space tourism during the coming decade. Futron/Zogby estimates that by 2021 there will be 13,000 suborbital passengers annually, resulting in $650 million in revenue. Many companies are currently working to make commercial space flight a viable industry. But even once the hurdles of developing commercial spacecraft have been overcome, there will still remain many challenges to protecting the health and well-being of paying space travelers. ADVENTURE CAPITALISTS: MEET TUE SPACE BILLIONAIRES Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc., and one of the 50 richest people on Earth. As one of six space billionaires who are fueling a new commercial space revolution, Allen financed the SpaceShipOne spaceplane that won the X Prize. He has helped to fund the Space- ShipTwo development that will carry Virgin Galactic passengers into space in 2013. He is also backing Stratolaunch Systems construction of the worlds largest aircraft, which will be powered by six 747 aircraft engines. This vehicle will carry commercial space launcher systems to very high altitude for launch, thus dramatically lowering the cost of commercial flight to orbit. Sir Richard Branson, the tycoon at the heart of Virgin Ltd. Branson has worked in partnership with Burt Rutan and Paul Allen to create Virgin Galactic. The space adventures enterprise now has 500 passengers signed up to fly on a suborbital flight to an altitude of more than 100 kilometers (about 65 miles) out into space. This high-risk enterprise is designed to accommodate celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Victoria Principal, as well as anyone with the money (about $200,000 per ticket) and the daring to want to see our planet against the blackness of the cosmos. Four minutes of weightlessness, some citizen astronaut training, and a waiver of all liability comes with the package. Elon Musk, The young billionaire who founded PayPal and then went on to found Tesla Motors and Space X. He developed the Falcon 1 rocket and is now testing the Falcon 9 launch vehicle with its Dragon spacecraft that is designed to fly cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA as a robotic system. The rocket and the capsule, however, could be upgraded to hold human crews, as well. Musk is also a partner with Allen and Rutan in the Stratolaunch Systems venture. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com. His Blue Origin spacecraft company, shrouded in secrecy in rural Texas near the border with New Mexico, is developing launchers that could fly people into space-first on suborbital flights and then to low- Earth orbit. Robert T. Bigelow, the owner of the Budget Suites hotel chain. Bigelow has already launched two private space stations, called Genesis 1 and 2. These orbital stations are based on inflatablesystems technology that was developed but abandoned by NASA. He has plans to launch a private space station in low- Earth orbit that has more inside space than the ISS and could accommodate space tourists who wanted a hotel suite in space, as well as flight experiments. Bigelow has backed a $50 million prize for a private developer who could demonstrate a commercial flight capability to his space station, but his stipulations were sufficiently strict that no one was able to collect the prize.