From Satellites to Space Tourism Project- The 99th Kelvin Lecture & Dinner 2008

Flying in air then going into space to explore what is unreachable to most humans has been a long lasting dream of humanity. The dream of flying is already available to everybody. Space exploration started just 50 years ago with Gagarin, followed by the moon exploration and then regular orbital flight of astronauts to MIR and the International Space Station. However the dream of going in orbit is not really accessible today to non professional astronauts. Following Space Ship1’s flight to 100 km altitude, market analysis has revealed that a significant part of the wealthy population is interested in the sub-orbital flight to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and the view of earth from space.

This presentation will give an overview of the logical link between Astrium’s space activities and Space Tourism and present the corresponding craft.