1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:13,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to brainstuff from house storks dot com where smart happens. Hi, 2 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: am arest brain with today's question, will space tourism ever 3 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,599 Speaker 1: become a reality? And if so, when might that happen? 4 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 1: For decades, space travel has been the province of nations. 5 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: A nation like the United States would select a handful 6 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 1: of people, train them extensively, anoint them as astronauts, and 7 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: send them into space at very great cost. That model 8 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:41,199 Speaker 1: changed slightly in two thousand one, a businessman named Dennis 9 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,479 Speaker 1: Tito paid twenty million dollars or so to become the 10 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: first person to pay for a ride into space. Mr. 11 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: Tito can therefore be called the first space tourist. His 12 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,280 Speaker 1: flight took him to the International Space Station, where he 13 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: stayed for seven days. Mark Shuttleworth was the second space 14 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: or is to travel to the International Space Station in 15 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 1: two thousand two. So far, seven people have flown to 16 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,319 Speaker 1: the International Space Station in this way, and they are 17 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:13,399 Speaker 1: the only members of the elite group of space tourists 18 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:17,039 Speaker 1: on planet Earth. But that exclusive club is about to 19 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 1: gain many more members. In two thousand and twelve, if 20 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 1: all goes as planned, the first regularly scheduled flights into 21 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: space should begin on Virgin Galactic, and several other competitors 22 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 1: should follow shortly thereafter. Let's take a look at how 23 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: the space tourism industry may unfold in the years to come. 24 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: Some people might not consider the Virgin Galactic flights to 25 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:43,559 Speaker 1: be truly worthy of the title space flight. The first 26 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: Virgin Galactic missions will not orbit the Earth. Space tourists 27 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: on these flights will instead travel about a hundred kilometers 28 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: or sixty two miles high, and then return to Earth 29 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: just after a few minutes of weightlessness. A flight on 30 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 1: Virgin Galactic will initially cost about two hundred thousand dollars. 31 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: These flights also will look nothing like the traditional space 32 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 1: mission that people have become familiar with by watching NASA 33 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: flights on TV. There will be no huge, monolithic rockets 34 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,360 Speaker 1: sitting on a launchpad, for example. Instead, passengers will board 35 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: a small airplane like space vehicle that holds six people. 36 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 1: This vehicle will be strapped underneath a much larger airplane. 37 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: That larger airplane will take off from a traditional runway 38 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,000 Speaker 1: and fly to an altitude of fifty thousand feet. The 39 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:37,519 Speaker 1: space vehicle will then detach and fire its rocket engine 40 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: to go from fifty thousand feet to three hundred and 41 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: forty thousand feet or so, which is a hundred kilometers up. 42 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: Once the rocket engine burns out, passengers will experience weightlessness 43 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:50,920 Speaker 1: and we'll be able to see the blackness of space 44 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: with the Earth curving off down below. The whole experience 45 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: will require two days of training and the actual flight 46 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: will last approximately to an a half hours. Why won't 47 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: these Virgin galactic flights go orbital? Why do they go 48 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: up and then immediately come back down. It has to 49 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: do with the size and complexity of the spacecraft and 50 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:17,239 Speaker 1: therefore the cost of the flight. On Virgin's first generation spaceship, 51 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 1: the maximum speed is MOCK three, or roughly two thousand 52 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 1: miles per hour. To go into orbit, the ship would 53 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: need to reach seventeen thousand miles per hour. This requires 54 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: much more fuel for the launch, and orbital speeds also 55 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: require a heat shield for re entry. Orbital flights could 56 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:39,119 Speaker 1: be available in the not too distant future, at least theoretically. 57 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 1: In December two thousand and ten, a company called SpaceX 58 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 1: demonstrated one possible scenario, launching its dragging capsule atop a 59 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: Falcon nine rocket and safely bringing it back to Earth 60 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: after several orbits of the planet. SpaceX has received a 61 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: NASA contract to ferry cargo to the International Space Station 62 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 1: and could conceivably earn into space tourism as well. Once 63 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: space tourists are in orbit, they'll need a place to go. 64 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: Bigelow Aerospace may provide the first destination with its orbiting 65 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: commercial space station. Bigelow has already launched two prototypes called 66 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: Genesis one in Genesis two. These are inflatable modules with 67 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:24,799 Speaker 1: thick skins that provide shielding, insulation, and structure. If everything 68 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: goes as planned, the inflatable space station itself will launch 69 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:34,040 Speaker 1: in several pieces starting in or So. Perspective clients include 70 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: nations and corporations interested in microgravity research, as well as 71 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: individuals looking for space tourism opportunities. Assume that this all 72 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:48,039 Speaker 1: goes as planned. As early as or So, we may 73 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: see normal people. I'll be at rich ones in orbit 74 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: and staying in space hotels on a regular basis. The 75 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: tickets will be expensive, true, but they will still be 76 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: in reach of many people from there. The hope is 77 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,839 Speaker 1: that prices can fall and demand can increase to the 78 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: point where space tourism becomes routine. Be sure to check 79 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: out our new video podcast, Stuff from the Future. Join 80 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: how Staff Work Staff as we explore the most promising 81 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 1: and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. 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