SpaceX has plans to fly space tourists

[Waspie_Dwarf]

SpaceX has plans to fly space tourists twice as high as the ISS

Quote

SpaceX is offering tickets for space tourists to fly aboard the same type of spacecraft that will bring NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). Through a partnership with the space tourism firm Space Adventures, four tickets are on sale to fly far above the ISS aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Space Adventures isn’t new to the space tourism game: between 2001 and 2009, it sent seven private individuals to the International Space Station aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, charging tens of millions of dollars per flight. Since then, it has continued to sell tickets to space to wealthy individuals such as Google co-founder Sergey Brin, but has not flown any other missions.

  Read More: New Scientist

 

[Seti42]

You what'd be a better idea and use of resources than launching billionaires into space (and bringing them back)?
Doing more science.
Sending a probe to Europa.
Pretty much anything other than rich person as cargo BS.

[+Desertrat56]

16 minutes ago, Seti42 said:

You what'd be a better idea and use of resources than launching billionaires into space (and bringing them back)?
Doing more science.
Sending a probe to Europa.
Pretty much anything other than rich person as cargo BS.

How do you think they are funding their science?  By selling tickets to fat billionaires to go to space.  They are probably used as guinea pigs while they are on the ship.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

46 minutes ago, Seti42 said:

You what'd be a better idea and use of resources than launching billionaires into space (and bringing them back)?
Doing more science.
Sending a probe to Europa.
Pretty much anything other than rich person as cargo BS.

A totally ill considered opinion, based and no real logic and devoid of any real comprehension of what SpaceX is or of basic economics.

What resources are being wasted exactly?

SpaceX is NOT a space agency, it is not here to do science, it is a commercial launch company. It launches the payloads of ANY legitimate organisation willing and able to pay for the flight. As such Space Adventure, a company that has been involved in space tourism for many a year, is a legitimate customer.

The more flights SpaceX makes, both with the Falcon 9 and the Crew Dragon, the cheaper (and more reliable) the launches will become. By getting billionaires to pay large amounts of money to fly in space SpaceX will be increasing their profits and lowering the costs of spaceflight for other customers... for example NASA.

The entire reason NASA encouraged the commercialisation of spaceflight was to force down prices, to open up new markets and to, eventuality, open up spaceflight to ordinary people. When air travel first started it was only the super rich that could afford it. The money airlines made from the super rich enabled them to lower their prices to the point where ordinary people were able to afford to fly. It is the aim of NASA that this should eventually happen in spaceflight too. Without the super rich buying tickets at the start of this new era in spaceflight there will be no ordinary citizens flying in the future.

The lowering of costs will benefit science, the cheaper launches become the more science can be launched on the same budget. This was the ENTIRE idea of NASA's commercial Crew Program, to fund Boeing and SpaceX to provide cheaper flights to the ISS whilst encouraging them to look for new markets.

 

47 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

How do you think they are funding their science?  By selling tickets to fat billionaires to go to space.

SpaceX are not really along for the science (although Elon Musk has the long term goal of setting up a million person colony on Mars, he is interested in the long term survival of the human race rather than the science per se.) However you are correct that selling tickets to billionaires (probably not the fat ones, they might not pass the medical) is a legitimate business plan.

50 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

They are probably used as guinea pigs while they are on the ship.

They may well sign up to certain tests (past Space Adventures customers have carried experiments with them to the Space Station) how ever there is likely to be a limited amount of use as guinea pigs, an almost certain way to face bankruptcy is to kill four billionaires.

[+Desertrat56]

8 minutes ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

They may well sign up to certain tests (past Space Adventures customers have carried experiments with them to the Space Station) how ever there is likely to be a limited amount of use as guinea pigs, an almost certain way to face bankruptcy is to kill four billionaires.

I didn't mean experiements, but rather logs kept of vital signs, exercise regimens that would be supervised and monitored, pre health exams & post health exams that would be used to make changes if needed to anything concerning the health and well being of the passengers.  Their data would be used. 

Edited February 19, 2020 by Desertrat56

[Waspie_Dwarf]

5 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

I didn't mean experiements, but rather logs kept of vital signs, exercise regimens that would be supervised and monitored, pre health exams & post health exams that would be used to make changes if needed to anything concerning the health and well being of the passengers.  Their data would be used. 

That's entirely possible, as I said previous Space Adventures customers have taken part in experiments on board the ISS, however it was experiments the fare paying passengers agreed to and brought along as part of their flight that they took part in. As they are paying it will be their choice. Neither Space Adventures nor SpaceX are scientific organisations.

Also space is far more limited. Previous Space Adventure customers were restricted to the Russian section of the ISS as their flight were not NASA approved, however that is still vastly more space than inside a Crew Dragon capsule.

I suspect that life functions will be monitored but that is as much for safety as science.

[geraldnewfie]

yes please, this way we can get some flat earthers up there to proof they are nuts

[InconceivableThoughts]

13 hours ago, geraldnewfie said:

yes please, this way we can get some flat earthers up there to proof they are nuts

I'm sure flat earthers even though seeing for themselves will still be ignorant. More likely they will say space x put tv screens in all the windows that brodcasted more doctored videos of thier flat earth.

[+Desertrat56]

14 hours ago, geraldnewfie said:

yes please, this way we can get some flat earthers up there to proof they are nuts

I doubt any flat earthers are even millionaires, much less billionaires so someone else would have to pay their way and that would be stupid.

[Jon the frog]

That's cool, if the space open up for good to private venture, it will be awesome ! IT need to work and not become a short time wonder but SpaceX are the real deal !

[Waspie_Dwarf]

16 minutes ago, Jon the frog said:

IT need to work and not become a short time wonder but SpaceX are the real deal !

Firstly it is Space Adventures who are the real brains behind this, they will simply buy flights off of SpaceX in the same way that NASA do. They also have plans to buy flights on Boeing's Starliner. They have also, in the past, bought seats on Soyuz spacecraft.

As for it being a short time wonder, Space Adventures have already flown 7 "spaceflight participants" to the international Space Station... one of them, Charles Simonyi, twice. They have been sending tourists into space for nearly 19 years, so there is definitely nothing short term about this.

[Jon the frog]

8 hours ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

Firstly it is Space Adventures who are the real brains behind this, they will simply buy flights off of SpaceX in the same way that NASA do. They also have plans to buy flights on Boeing's Starliner. They have also, in the past, bought seats on Soyuz spacecraft.

As for it being a short time wonder, Space Adventures have already flown 7 "spaceflight participants" to the international Space Station... one of them, Charles Simonyi, twice. They have been sending tourists into space for nearly 19 years, so there is definitely nothing short term about this.

That's great!