Space Tourism: Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, two of the world’s biggest billionaires, have recently returned to Earth after traveling in space. Since then there is a lot of discussion about space tourism. But before taking this field forward, it is important to consider some things.
Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson (Jeff Bezos-Richard Branson)
Space Tourism: This month has been very important for space-loving billionaires. On July 11, British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson’s Unity ‘rocket plane’ took him and five other passengers about 85 km above the Earth. And this week, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s New Shepard capsule climbed to an altitude of 106 kilometers, the first time Bezos, his brother, and the oldest and youngest person, reached such a height. Passengers on both flights felt weightless for several minutes and expressed awe-inspiring thoughts about our beautiful earth.
In this case, Professor Steven Freeland of Australian University says, both flights got media headlines and Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Bezos’s Blue Origin got brand recognition. The new look of space tourism is expected to become a lucrative commercial activity, with thousands of passengers paying for space travel. This year marks the 60th year of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first human to go into space. Since then about 600 trained astronauts have gone to outer space, but very few have attained the status of space tourists.
American engineer gave 20 million dollars
The first American engineer Dennis Tito paid $20 million to spend six days in the Russian section of the International Space Station orbiting the Earth in April 2001, after three months of training at Russia’s Star City complex. After him some more wealthy became space tourists (Space Travel Important Things). Cirque de Soleil founder Gui Lalibert went to space in 2009, with tickets for the trip booked for $35 million. Unlike their predecessors, Branson and Bezos’ flights were suborbital because they did not reach the speed required to orbit the Earth.
Bezos’s flight was only 10 minutes
Bezos’ flight lasted only 10 minutes. Sub-orbital flights aren’t technically overly complicated and are theoretically cheap (although a seat on a New Shepard flight was auctioned for $28 million) but imagine what you can afford before you go on the trip. If you’re lucky enough to have one—here are some things to consider (Space Travel Companies). Now let’s talk about those six questions, whose answers are important to know.
Where does space begin, somehow?
Despite the claims, there is no legal definition of ‘outer space’, and therefore no official demarcation of where airspace ends and space begins. In the past, the International Aeronautical Federation has looked to the von Karmann line, but this does not correspond to any boundary of the scientifically defined layers of an atmosphere, and therefore the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which looks into such issues, has so far been this question. could not solve.
Conveniently for Branson, some experts have described an altitude of 80 kilometers as the beginning of space. Outer space is indisputably influenced by physical geopolitics (Space Travel Disadvantages). Essentially, large space-going countries do not see the need for a legally defined limit that clearly sets the upper limits of their sovereignty.
Would you like to become an astronaut?
The 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty states that astronauts are humanity’s messengers in outer space. It was certainly visible when the world witnessed the historic event of Apollo 11 landing on the moon and prayed for the safe return of the Apollo 13 capsule. However, the 1968 UN Rescue Agreement, referring to ‘spacecraft personnel’, states that not everyone on board should be considered a full-fledged astronaut. Of course, these legal things can’t stop space tourism companies from giving their passengers the tag of being ‘astronauts’.
Which law applies when things go wrong?
The Challenger in 1986 and Columbia shuttle accidents in 2003 are reminders of the dangers of space travel. Human space travel has always had a deterministic acceptable risk for trained travelers. But commercial space tourism is different from state-sponsored space programs, and will require the highest possible safety standards. Commercial space travel will require a system of liability and accountability in case of injury or damage to astronauts.
Space tourists (or their families) cannot seek compensation under the 1972 United Nations Liability Treaty; in the case of space, it only applies in case of collisions between space objects such as satellites and space debris. While there may be scope for legal action under national laws, it is likely that space tourists will be asked to carefully sign obligations.
Perhaps the same is true of international air law that applies to ‘aircraft’-space tourism operators will be willing to ignore in an understandable manner (space tourism). Ultimately, we need ‘space law’ to keep these sub-orbital flights and in-orbit transit within the limits of what we envision will one day take passengers from Sydney to London in a matter of hours. Will be.
What activities should be allowed in space?
The rise of space tourism will raise some interesting ethical questions. Should there be advertising bill boards in space? What about casinos or chaklas? What are the legal grounds to stop these things? How does tourism fit into the ideology of Space Law: Exploration and the Use of Outer Space ‘Will it be used for the benefit and interests of all nations?’
Will space tourism harm the environment?
Space tourism will undoubtedly have an impact on the Earth’s atmosphere – there are claims that spacecraft may one day become the biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions. We will need to manage space traffic carefully to avoid catastrophic collisions and clear space debris (Space Travel Commercial). If tourists go to the Moon, they can pollute or damage past exploration heritage such as the footprints of Neil Armstrong.
Will tourism workers have to live in space?
If space tourism becomes truly widespread, it will require infrastructure and even personnel. People can live in space settlements permanently, and have children there who will be born as ‘space citizens’. If they were born on the moon, what would be their legal rights? Will they be subject to cosmic laws or some form of existing international rules for outer space? Clearly these are questions related to the future. But in the midst of the excitement generated by the brief space travels of some of the rich, we must now begin to consider them. Outer space is a new frontier, but it should not be a lawless space.
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