Last update: 17 July 2002
A final design project has been completed based on the results of our literature review completed in December 2001. The original challenge was to find a way to make Space Tourism available to the masses. To create this document, our team composed of 27 persons coming from 10 different countries worked intensively for one month (from mid November to mid December 2001) in parallel with many other activities in the Master of Space Studies timetable.
Below you can find the abstract of the final design report followed by an extract of the executive summary for the original Literature Review
The project utilises modern technology to immerse the user in a realistic representation of an EVA experience. The initial development consists of a pool in which the customers are submerged to simulate a microgravity environment. Whilst inside the pool, the tourists wear head-mounted stereoscopic displays inside a modified drysuit that immerses them in an interactive, realistic three dimensional environment. The virtual reality environment is created using images collected during previous deep space and Earth-observing missions, images recorded from a dedicated low earth orbit satellite and those taken by a lunar rover. Due to the modular nature of the pool, a mobile version has also been designed which can be used for advertising and additional revenue. The proposed imaging satellite is designed to deliver images to support the tourist’s virtual adventure around the Earth.
Safety is a key issue in such a facility and mechanisms have been designed to ensure the customer well-being at all points. Liability issues stem from the Consumer Product Safety Act and liability waivers would ensure that the company is not held responsible for any unfortunate accidents. Purchasing images from previous missions will raise issues related to intellectual property and copyrights depending on the country where the business is based. The international transfer of technology and hardware will raise export control issues.
The headquarters and initial fixed pool will be in the USA to take advantage of the legal infrastructure and amenable market. Japan and France will be targeted as subsequent markets of both the fixed and mobile pool. The total cost of the fixed neutral buoyancy facility is $6.9m in the first year, followed by recurring costs of $3.6m each year. The mobile facility will cost $360k in development costs and $330k in operational costs each year. For a viable business, an appropriate tourist ticket price for the fixed pool experience will be $460. The economic risks are multifaceted; the unique pool is a source of great uncertainty in the cost, along with the estimations of customer capacity and number of fixed pool sales. The potential for commercial success of this product is uncertain, even if a market research shows positive results.
Future expansion of the VEVA experience could be achieved through the addition of lunar rovers. This virtual lunar surface environment can be added into a modified version of the VEVA pool, providing additional experiences to the customers such as driving along the lunar landscape, exploring by foot or even visiting previous lunar landing sites.
The final conclusion of this project is that a virtual Extra Vehicular Activity experience, while moderately risky and uncertain, provides a viable alternate to today’s version of space tourism.
It is easy to understand that this is a multi-faceted problem. On one hand, space exploration is glamorous. Exploring the final frontiers stimulates the spirit in the same way as climbing Mount Everest or ballooning around the world captured the attention of 20th century adventurers. It is not surprising to find attempts to capitalize on this dream in the name of bringing excitement to people’s lives in a society driven by business and profit. The question must be asked: can space tourism achieve commercial success? Space exploration came at a high economic price. Very often this exploration was driven more by political agenda than the will to accumulate knowledge. Government funding was often approved only in the hope of political gains or for national security reasons. It is safe to say that the cost of space exploration was, and still is, beyond the range of most corporations and individuals. Finally, is it technically possible to achieve this dream? The answer is yes. For the past 40 years, Earth’s boundaries have been pushed further and further out, allowing mankind to learn about living beyond the protection of the biosphere.