Are Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin only good for billionaires’ space joyrides?
No new records have been broken and no new technology has been tested
Future outlook
The first billionaire in space hasexcited some, feeling that they too may one day see the Earth from 85km if they can afford US$250,000 for a one-hour trip. However, public opinion hasnot been unanimous, with many highlighting that the cost of the venture could be used to eradicate poverty or assist with the current pandemic response.
There’s also the environmental impact. According to Virgin Galactic, a single flight on Unity results in carbon emission of 1.2 tonnes –equivalent toa passenger in business class on a return trip from London to New York. Compared to aviation, this is small, but the more regular these flights become themore carbon will be added. Blue Origin’s engines, on the other hand, are powered by liquid hydrogen. While the emissions are therefore minimal, the generation of liquid hydrogen and carbon cost of transporting materials is still an issue.
Although Virgin Galactic has beaten Blue Origin to the punch – SpaceX is ahead of both in terms of private space exploration. It is focusing on launches to the International Space Station and much more adventurous space tourism,such as a trip to the Moon and back, which definitely classes as going into space. The success rate of SpaceX, including theCrew Dragon 2 craft, means that itsdearMoon projecthas a good chance of succeeding, although not for a few years yet. The plan is to develop a new rocket, known asStarship, to launch this first space tourism venture.
Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic is developing aconcept supersonic passenger transporteras a successor to the Concorde that would be able to fly up to 19 people from Los Angeles to Sydney in under seven hours. It also won a small contract with Nasato do researchon its flights.
Blue Origin has also collaborated with Nasa to develop concepts and technologies to support future human spaceflight operations. The current development isa concept robotic lunar landerdubbed Blue Moon, which is looking to deliver cargo – and maybe even crew – to the Moon. These projects will certainly provide more experience for the companies, although are a long way off being completed or tested.
Virgin Galactic’s sister companyVirgin Orbit, a low-cost, small satellite launch plan, is far more impressive. It has already completedtwo successful missions, deploying payloads to low Earth orbit. This works in a similar way to Virgin Galactic by having the LauncherOne rockets attached to a carrier plane (Cosmic Girl) and firing at an altitude of 10km. This is a good alternative for launching small, lightweight satellites to about 500km so that they don’t have to wait for an opening on larger rockets.
Branson has completed his lifelong dream, andBezos and passengersare on the brink of going a bit higher, but to the vast majority of people who will never get to experience such a flight, it is of little importance. No new records have been broken and no new technology has been tested. The real excitement will come when these companies are able to reach orbit, are willing to trial new technologies, assist significantly with scientific research, and open their doors to more people who aren’t super rich.
Article byIan Whittaker, Senior Lecturer in Physics,Nottingham Trent UniversityandGareth Dorrian, Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Space Science,University of Birmingham
This article is republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.
Story byThe Conversation
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