SPACE TOURISM – EXPANDING THE HORIZON 1 *ADITYA KUMAR PANDEY & *HARSHIT TIWARI INTRODUCTION It is very evident that after the first successful operational flights the number of tourists willing to go in space will be more and proportionately the tickets for such space flights will also increase. Such increase in demand of interest of tourists will give a boost to the confidence of the commercial space flights to increase the facilities and design of their spacecrafts. Such increase in the market will create a competition among various commercial companies which will lead to enhancement and development of new technology as that is the basis on which they can claim better prices. The companies will focus on increased safety which is the key in commercial flights business. Enhanced performance and increase in the flight time will play a major role as this activity will attract more people and this is what tourists demand. BRIEF HISTORY OF SPACE TOURISM : While tracing history one thing which is evident is that travel has always been a charm for humans. To seek new places is not new for humans and this very habit of humans forms the basis for growth in tourism sector. Today earth became a small place to explore for humans and now humans are exploring outer space. So now the concept of Space tourists is no more a dream rather it is now *4 th Year, B.A.LL.B. (Hons.), University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun. 103 Published in Articles section of www.manupatra.com reality. Since the 1960s, around 450 astronauts have gone into outer space but very few rich individuals have gone into space as tourists. Outer space exercises have grown after Sputnik 1 was launched, humans are on the verge of the next great ‘leap’ into space. In April 2001, Dennis Tito an US national spent six days in International Space Station (ISS) and for the first time any private individual has paid for space travel and for stay in hotel. His trip was confirmed after there was agreement between all ISS partners 2. However NASA was against his visit and said that sending an private individual on ISS would risk other persons. But later after the success of his journey, NASA itself became active in the concept of space tourists. In April 2002, Mark Shuttleworth, from South Africa became the world’s second space tourist to be launched onto the ISS. Then there was an U.S. based scientist and entrepreneur Gregory Olsen. A History was made in Space Tourism, when Fourth space tourist Anousheh Ansari became first female space tourist to enter in space and first astronaut of Iranian slide. 2 The partners in the ISS Project are the US, Russia, Japan, Canada, and 11 Member States of the European Space Agency (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom): see Art. 3(b) of the intergovernmental agreement that formalises the relationship between the ISS Partners, the Agreement concerning Co- operation on the Civil International Space Station, opened for signature 29 January 1998, TIAS No. 12927 (entered into force 27 March 2001) (‘ISS Agreement’). 104 Published in Articles section of www.manupatra.com WHAT IS SPACE TOURISM ? The term ‘space tourism’ means ‘any commercial activity offering customers direct or indirect experience with space travel’ 3. A space tourist means ‘someone who tours or travels into, to, or through space or to a celestial body for pleasure and/or recreation’ 4. Further it be classified into I. ORBITAL SPACE TOURISM In orbital spaceflight orbital velocity is to be obtained for the space vehicle so that it can fly along the curvature of the Earth. The velocity required to stay in an orbit is called orbital velocity and depends on the altitude of the orbit. For a circular orbit at an altitude of around 200 kilometers, the orbital velocity required is approximately 28 000 kilometers per hour 5. So this very need of high speed makes orbital space flight technically difficult and costly. Orbital public space travel is currently limited to one spacecraft, the Russian Soyuz vehicle. Two times in a year, Russia launches Soyuz on supply flights to the ISS as only two cosmonauts are required to fly the Soyuz, a third seat on each mission is for to probable space tourists. Although the Soyuz is currently the only option for orbital public space travel, other potential, future options exist: 3 Stephan Hobe and Jürgen Cloppenburg,‘ Towards a New Aerospace Convention? Selected Legal Issues of “Space Tourism ”, (2004) 47 Proceedings of the Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space 377. 4 Zeldine Niamh O’Brien, ‘Liability for Injury, Loss or Damage to the Space Tourist’, (2004) 47 Proceedings of the Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space 386. 5 The orbital altitude of the International Space Station is between 370 and 460 kilometres and its orbital velocity is approximately 27 500 Kilometres per hour: European Space Agency, ‘International Space Station: Final Configuration’ (Fact Sheet No 1, 3 November 2005), available at : <http://www.spaceflight.esa.int/users/downloads/factsheets/fs001_12_iss.pdf >. 105 Published in Articles section of www.manupatra.com GOVERNMENT SPACECRAFT /P ROGRAMS · Space Shuttle (U.S.) · Shenzhou (China) · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Responsive Access, Small Cargo, Affordable Launch (RASCAL) Program (U.S.) · NASA's 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle Program (U.S.) COMMERCIAL SPACECRAFT · K-1 (Kistler Aerospace) · SA-1 (Space Access) · Starbooster (Starcraft Boosters, Inc.) · Neptune (Interorbital Systems SUB -ORBITAL TOURISM A suborbital flight is a trip to space that does not involve sending the vehicle on into orbit. If a spacecraft makes a ballistic trip to an altitude of 100 km (62 miles), basically flying in a wide arc from the ground and back down again, it is called a sub-orbital jump. Below is a partial list of some of the suborbital vehicles under development: SUBORBITAL VEHICLES (AND DEVELOPERS ) · Armadillo (Armadillo Aerospace) · Ascender (Bristol Spaceplanes) · Astroliner (Kelly Space and Technology) · Canadian Arrow (Canadian Arrow) · Cosmopolis XXI (Myasishchev Design Bureau) 106 Published in Articles section of www.manupatra.com · Millennium Express (Third Millennium Aerospace) · Pathfinder (Pioneer Rocketplane) · Proteus (Scaled Composites, LLC) · SC-1 and SC-2(Space Clipper International) · Space Cruiser (Vela Technology Development) · Starchaser (Starchaser Industries) · Xerus (XCOR) II. INTERCONTINENTAL ROCKET TRANSPORT Intercontinental rocket transport infers a travel through space with a specific end goal to reduce the travel time taken with one point on Earth then onto the next. This idea is alluring for the military and also business transportation space tourists. However, the technical complexity are substantial in terms of the required velocity and requirement for a robust thermal protection system for proper re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere and this complexity can be best understood by taking the example of Concorde aircraft. PHASES IN SPACE TOURISM Like any type of business, the space tourism will grow upon its inception. With such onset a relatively insufficient and relatively exorbitant- priced ‘pioneering phase’, the prices will go down and range of activities will prosper as it matures PIONEERING PHASE Gordon Woodcock of Boeing proposed "space adventure travel", and it is suitable to depict the first phase. There will be less tourists - from hundreds per 107 Published in Articles section of www.manupatra.com year to thousands per year; high prices, $50,000 and up; and closer to "adventure travel" than to luxury hotel-style. MATURE PHASE There will be growth of tourists in this phase, thousands of passengers per year to hundreds of thousands per year. Low cost ticker and different airports will facilitate departure facilities. MASS PHASE There will be fall in the price of tickets and the range of tourists will be from hundreds of thousands to millions of passengers per year. LEGAL POSITION OF SPACE TOURISTS The five space treaties which reflect the international law of outer space i.e. Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies 6, Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space 7 , Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects 8, Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space 9, Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space 10 , and sets of principles, namely, Principles Governing the Use by States of Artificial Earth Satellites for 6 Opened for signature 27 January 1967, 610 UNTS 205 (entered into force 10 October 1967). 7 Opened for signature 22 April 1968, 672 UNTS 119 (entered into force 3 December 1968). 8 Opened for signature 29 March 1972, 961 UNTS 187 (entered into force 1 September 1972). 9 Opened for signature 14 January 1975, 1023 UNTS 15 (entered into force 15 September 1976). 10 GA Res 1962 (XVIII), UN GAOR, 18th sess, 1280th plen mtg, UN Doc A/RES/1962 (XVIII) (13 December 1963). 108 Published in Articles section of www.manupatra.com International Direct Television Broadcasting 11 ,Principles relating to Remote Sensing of the Earth from Outer Space 12 , Principles relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space 13 , and Declaration on International Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for the Benefit and in the Interest of All States, Taking into Particular Account the Needs of Developing Countries 14 , make no mention regarding ‘tourists’, but they do consider space travel done by ‘astronauts’, including ‘personnel of a spacecraft’. The Outer Space Treaty considers and places astronauts as ‘envoys of mankind’ 15 , and obligates states for giving ‘all possible assistance’ to astronauts in case of an ‘accident, distress or emergency landing’ 16 .