Tourism on the International Space Station

[Snagglefoot]

Looks like tourism has reached the International Space Station. Enjoy.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Hopefully it will work out better than that field trip to the Titanic…

 

[grammatoncleric]

Looks like tourism has reached the International Space Station. Enjoy.

View attachment 176646

First comment from the tourists. "Oh my God this thing stinks! What's that smell?!!!" Followed by "Where the bar and the spa?"

 

[Cujet]

I don't know what to think. Possibly a wealthy tourist could also be a ultra-nerdy type and provide some valid input for experiments or science. Or even use the experience to suggest what might work for future space hardware and the general public.

I've often thought about any experiments I'd want to run in micro gravity. But in the end, I don't have anything to suggest other than the Mach Effect type thruster experiments

 

[grammatoncleric]

I don't know what to think. Possibly a wealthy tourist could also be a ultra-nerdy type and provide some valid input for experiments or science. Or even use the experience to suggest what might work for future space hardware and the general public.

I've often thought about any experiments I'd want to run in micro gravity. But in the end, I don't have anything to suggest other than the Mach Effect type thruster experiments

Space X will market this to desperate housewives types with a moto: "come with us on a trip of the lifetime and lose all the weight you want!"


There is a documentary about civilians going into space.

 

[Owen Lucas]

This already happened 12 years ago, Dennis Tito, space station crew gave him the cold shoulder.

If I had the money, I’d do it too.

First Space Tourist: How a U.S. Millionaire Bought a Ticket to Orbit

Forty years to the month after Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space, Dennis Tito showed that there was money to be made in human spaceflight -- lots of money, as he plunked down a reported $20 million for his flight.

www.space.com

 

[ekrampitzjr]

We're not likely to see much more of this. The ISS is nearing the end of its life, and abandoning the station is becoming more likely because of the poor relations between the US and Russia now.

Also, let's face it: we hear about the ISS mainly during a story like this one. We never hear about the actual results and findings from research and experiments conducted on space missions, though we as taxpayers pay for them, and I think that hasn't helped the space program over the years. I remember there were many experiments on the shuttle that sounded fascinating, but we never heard about the outcomes. The old NASA Tech Briefs were more about the technology used, not about scientific results.

 

[Snagglefoot]

If things go wrong they can hit the button.

 

[grammatoncleric]

We're not likely to see much more of this. The ISS is nearing the end of its life, and abandoning the station is becoming more likely because of the poor relations between the US and Russia now.

Also, let's face it: we hear about the ISS mainly during a story like this one. We never hear about the actual results and findings from research and experiments conducted on space missions, though we as taxpayers pay for them, and I think that hasn't helped the space program over the years. I remember there were many experiments on the shuttle that sounded fascinating, but we never heard about the outcomes. The old NASA Tech Briefs were more about the technology used, not about scientific results.

Sadly yes. That's the undoing of NASA. Some experiments are sensitive or the results didn't pan out so they rather stay silent than state that your tax dollars were wasted.

However, if tourism does pick up then NASA did indeed floated the idea that it wouldn't mind handing over the station to a private entity.

 

[Snagglefoot]

The latest capsule splashed down safely.