Blue Origin made headlines on April 14 with an all-female crew aboard its New Shepard rocket, marking a historic moment in space travel. American pop star Katy Perry, billionaire Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez, CBS presenter Gayle King, and three other women soared to the edge of space, spending approximately 11 minutes in suborbital flight. This was the first all-women mission since 1963.
While the mission cost a hefty $150,000 in deposits per ticket, it has sparked a mixed response. The flight was undeniably symbolic and inspirational, but many are questioning if such ventures are worth the hype, particularly when considering their environmental and social impact.
What is Space Tourism?
Space tourism allows private individuals to visit space for leisure. Most commercial trips, including Blue Origin’s, only reach the Kármán line – the edge of space about 100 km above sea level – offering a few minutes of weightlessness. Unlike government-led space exploration, space tourism serves the ultra-rich and focuses on thrill-seeking rather than scientific discovery.
Major players include Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, and Bezos’ Blue Origin. These companies offer both suborbital and orbital flights, with prices ranging from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of dollars.
The Business Behind the Hype
Despite criticisms, space tourism is booming. Valued at $848 million in 2023, the industry hit $1.3 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $6.7 billion by 2030, growing at over 31% annually. Advocates believe it will rejuvenate interest in space exploration and accelerate technological innovation.
“We have gotten a lot of products that are safe in a space environment that we copy in a safe way for the benefit of people on Earth,” said Annette Toivonen, a lecturer at Helsinki’s Haag-Helia University and author of Sustainable Space Tourism: An Introduction. She suggested space-driven research might yield breakthroughs in sustainable fuel systems, like hydrogen alternatives.
Bezos also defended the space tourism mission, stating it was about “building a road to space for the next generations to do amazing things there, and those amazing things will solve problems here on Earth.”
The Criticism: Wasteful and Harmful?
Critics argue that space tourism serves only the ultra-rich while contributing to environmental degradation. Hollywood actor Olivia Munn called it “a bit gluttonous,” adding, “There’s a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs.”
She further questioned the purpose: “Space exploration was to further our knowledge and to help mankind. What are they going to do up there that has made it better for us down here?”
Environmental concerns also dominate the debate. Rocket launches, though relatively few, emit pollutants in the stratosphere that can deplete the ozone layer. “Hydrogen and oxygen can produce water, and water released into the dry stratosphere can influence the climate,” said Eloise Marais, a physical geography professor at University College London.
Even Virgin Galactic’s rubber-fueled hybrid engines release soot, contributing to atmospheric pollution. “Hybrid engines can use different types of fuels, but they always generate a lot of soot,” said Filippo Maggi, aerospace professor at Politecnico di Milano.
Pollution Per Launch vs. Air Travel
Dallas Kasaboski of Northern Sky Research noted that a single suborbital spaceflight may pollute as much as a 10-hour transatlantic flight. “Even if the suborbital tourism market is launching at a fraction of the number of launches compared to the rest of the [tourism] industry, each of their flights has a much higher contribution, and that could be a problem.”
Martin Ross from Aerospace Corporation emphasized the lack of data. “The amount of fuel currently burned by the space industry is less than one per cent of the fuel burned by aviation. So there has not been a lot of research… but things are changing.”
Final Frontier or Futile Fantasy?
As Blue Origin’s historic flight captures imaginations, questions about accessibility, ethics, and sustainability remain. Whether space tourism leads to meaningful innovation or remains an exclusive luxury is still up for debate. For now, it serves as a flashy but controversial glimpse into the future of travel.
