I chose the topic of space tourism as it is a topic that i am very interested in. I’ve always wanted to go to space from the time i was a child, but i had known that the only way was either to become an astronaut and even then be very lucky to be selected to actually go on a mission, or two pay an exorbitant amount of money to buy a seat on a launch. Times are changing though, and with the advent of reusable rockets and private space companies, the cost of a ticket to space has dramatically reduced, and will only continue to drop. This is what fascinates me, as it is a direct parallel to the advent of air travel. In the beginning planes were strictly for government purposes, (war defenses, mail shipments etc.), but as the frequency of these flights increased, so did the infrastructure to support it. Eventually people began to realize that maybe it wasn’t just for the ultra wealthy, maybe it could be an everyday thing such as train and car travel. Private companies started to charter their own flights purely for profit instead of functionality, and as more and more people used the services, the cost dramatically went down.

 

I genuinely believe that is what’s going to happen in the coming decades as more and more companies develop and launch rockets from the ground up, no pun intended. Spacex has already started selling tickets for future launches, as well as launching an entirely civilian crew this last summer. we are in unpresented times for the future of space travel and the future can only get more exciting, with space hotels so close on the horizon, and the concept of space tourism slowly but surely becoming something only for the wealthy elite, to something an average adult could afford at least once in their lifetime.