Wackiest ways we’ll travel to space from terrifying 22,000-mile-long elevator to balloon with ‘loo with a view’
FROM the 2050s, it is largely hoped that humans will travel to space, in a similar way to how they travel abroad.
It won’t be cheap, but you’ll understand why when you see the kind of style these high-flying travellers will be travelling in.
Space elevator
One of the wackiest proposals engineers have tabled is the 22,000mile-long elevator.
The $100billion project, put forward by the creators of the iconic Tokyo Skytree tower, would lift paying customers to space at the press of a button.
The elevator is “technically feasible”, according to bosses at Obayashi Corporation, and could start hoisting people to Mars by 2050.
“Instead of taking six to eight months to reach Mars, scientists have estimated a space elevator could get us there in three to four months or even as quickly as 40 days,” reported Business Insider.
Engineers say the elevator would take high-flying tourists to a spaceport orbiting some 36,000 km [22,000 miles] above Earth – the elevator’s point of arrival and departure.
To get there, tourists would first have to check-in at the Earth port which floats on the sea at the equator, and is accessed by an underwater tunnel.
The project is indeed ambitious, as it would have to be strong enough to be unaffected by extreme weather events.
The idea is to make accessing space as easy as “riding a train,” according to the firm.
Space distances
Obayashi wants to build a space elevator by the year 2050
The Japanese firm has designed a space elevator.
The US$100-billion project would feature a sea-based departure port where space tourists would be lifted to a geostationary Earth orbit station at a height of 36,000 km (22,369 miles).
A 96,000 km (60,000 m) cable would extend beyond the geostationary orbit.
This final destination would serve as the Solar System exploration gate, sending spacecraft out to extract resources from planets and other parts of the solar system, such as Jupiter and asteroids.
By comparison, the distance from Earth to the Moon is 384,400 km (238,855 m); Earth to Mercury is 77 million km (48m miles); from Earth to Mars is 225m km (140m miles); and Earth to Venus is 259.58m km (25m miles).
Earth’s average distance to the Sun is about 150m km (93m miles).
The International Space Station maintains an orbit approximately 400 km (250 m) above sea level, while the Hubble Space Telescope operates at an altitude of about 515 km (320 m), said Nasa.
Space plane
One of our more traditional forms of transportation is getting a major upgrade.
A new plane could be launched into outer space by a rocket-powered sled by 2028, according to Radian Aerospace.
After being catapulted into space at roughly 500mph, the reusable spacecraft – dubbed the Radian One – can spend up to five days in orbit.
It is designed to be used up to 100 times, and carry a crew of two to five astronauts with a 48 hour turnaround time between missions.
A prototype vehicle of Radian One should be ready in 2024, and a a full-scale space plane take to the skies before the end of the decade.
Space balloon
There are a couple of space balloons in the works, but only one that offers a loo with a view.
Spaceship Neptune, from Florida-based Space Perspective, can fly right up to the cusp of space, roughly 100,000ft, before leisurely returning passengers to the ground.
Customers can make use of the in-air Wi-Fi to send pictures to friends and family, or even the cocktail service.
Although roughly the same size as an aeroplane bathroom, the loo is kitted out with luxurious furnishings, including real plants, a plush toilet seat, “unique soundscapes” and of course, breathtaking views of home.
The number of passengers is customisable – depending on how much you’re paying.
But in total, the space balloon can fit up to eight tourists onboard.
Neptune has 360-degree long rectangular windows for viewing, which sets it aside from Virgin Galactic porthole-style windows.
The experience lasts about six hours from launch to landing, including around four hours of time in the sky.
The company plans to start human spaceflights in 2025, with commercial operations beginning in 2026.
What's the price for a trip?
The price for an experience of a lifetime will typically bruise the wallet.
To reserve a seat onboard Neptune, Space Perspective requires a refundable deposit starting from $1,000.
The total cost of a seat will cost tourists $125,000.
It’s an eyewatering sum, however, it is miles cheaper than Richard Branson’s prices at Virgin Galactic.
Branson’s trip is also only 90 minutes.
Whereas Space Perspective offers starbound tourists two hours to view the curve of the Earth, the inky black of space, and the thin blue line of our atmosphere.
This is, after all, what the company calls “the quintessential astronaut experience.”
Although, there won’t be any weightlessness.