Space Tourism. A Future Sustainable Business or Not?

Space tourism, which has recently come to the attention of society, has sparked controversy over the environmental consequences of recreational space travel, which has become a lucrative business done by and for the super-rich. This scientific paper investigates, through qualitative and quantitative research, the potential for the success and sustainability of this industry. The interviewed tourism and aviation experts believe that space tourism deserves to be developed in order to colonise other planets and make society responsible for the environmental issues, despite the huge costs, which will be reduced, similar to the aviation trend, by technological advances. Also, the results of the survey in which students participated, as future specialists in business and tourism, indicate an increased share of those aware of the effects of carbon pollution and a percentage of over 30% of those who believe in the development of space tourism, supported by economic benefits of offsetting environmental costs. The overall conclusion of the study highlights technological progress as a mobilising factor in reducing carbon dioxide emissions from spacecraft and in achieving the dream of sustainability of space travel, revealing space tourism as a resource that would benefit society as a whole, scientifically and economically.

Keywords

Space tourism, sustainable business, carbon emissions, spacecraft, colonisation

JEL Classification

L83, O13, Z32

References

Ahmed, I. (2021). Environmental concerns grow as space tourism lifts off. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://phys.org/news/2021-07-environmental-space-tourism.html

Arabesque. (2021). Is space travel compatible with sustainability? Retrieved October 26, 2021, from https://www.ecobusiness.com/opinion/is-space-travel-compatible-with-sustainability/

Forganni, A. (2017). The potential of space tourism for space popularisation: An opportunity for the EU space policy? Space Policy, 41, 48–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spacepol.2017.04.005

Gorman, S. (2021). Billionaire Branson soars to space aboard Virgin Galactic flight. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/virgin-galactics-branson-ready-space-launch-aboard-rocketplane-2021-07-11/

Heilweil, R. (2021). How bad is space tourism for the environment? And other space travel questions, answered. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from https://www.vox.com/recode/22589197/space-travel-tourism-bezos-branson-rockets-blue-origin-virgin-galactic-spacex

Ho, K. K. (2021). Expensive trips to the edge of space could have big effects on the atmosphere. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/emissions-from-space-tourism-could-quickly-add-up-2021-7

Kumar Padhy, A., & Kumar Padhy, A. (2021). Legal conundrums of space tourism. Acta Astronautica, 184, 269–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.04.024

Neacșu, M. C. (2021). Toward conceptualization of an emergent form: Exotourism. CACTUS. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://www.cactus-journal-of-tourism.ase.ro/Pdf/vol_3_2/Neacsu.pdf

Pollack, V. J. (2021, July). What is the ecological footprint of space tourism? [Podcast]. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://www.tourism-review.com/space-tourism-has-enormous-ecological-footprint-news12133

Primal Space. (2020). What will space tourism be like? [Video]. Retrieved December 12, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH-xm9G9QBk

Salt, D. J. (n.d.). Space tourism—Delivering on the dream [PDF]. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://www.aviation.tudarmstadt.de/media/arbeitskreis_luftverkehr/downloads_6/kolloquien/17kolloquium/einzelbeitraege/Beitrag_Salt.pdf

Seedhouse, E. (2021). Space tourism. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/space-tourism

Sheetz, M. (2020). How SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and others compete in the growing space tourism market. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/26/space-tourism-how-spacex-virgin-galactic-blue-origin-axiom-compete.html

Spiliakos, A. (2018). What does “sustainability” mean in business? Retrieved May 9, 2022, from https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/what-is-sustainability-in-business

Wendover Productions. (2021). When will space tourism be affordable? [Video]. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNrobOYWZQE

Yi-Wei Chang, E. (2020). From aviation tourism to suborbital space tourism: A study on passenger screening and business opportunities. Acta Astronautica, 177, 410–420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.07.020