Regulating the Commercial Space Industry started back in the 1980s, when president Ronald Reagan signed the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 (www.faa.gov). This act helped create opportunities for private space flights. In the later add ons of this rule, private companies were given the legal authority to operate vehicles into space and carry passengers, at their own risk of course. The Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Space Industry regulations are located in Chapter III, parts 400 to 460, of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Much of those regulations were put in place to have rules in place for the operations of space vehicles. They highlight important aspects for those companies in such way to mostly ensure financial responsibility. For more about the regulations, I would advise to visit the NASA website as well. I think that the space industry is just like any other aviation industry and therefore must be somewhat regulated. I personally agree with all the regulations, even though I am sure that there will be many changes due to the fact the industry will only be expanding in the next years to come.
The Space-Tourism industry is currently expanding. The idea itself does not interest me personally but I am sure it interests others. I personally do not see this idea being opened up to the general public and for one reason only, the cost per person per flight. Estimates show that a ticket will cost a person nearly $250,000 to millions of dollars (Mann, 2017). How many people would be able to afford such ticket price? not me not you I am sure. Opportunities to tour the space are opened up for those wealthy individuals who do not know what else to do with their money. Research indicate that there are many attempts being made to lower that price but tickets, at least in my opinion, will remain outside of the general public's reach. Also, if those private space companies were to lower prices, I am so sure that they will minimize spendings on safety, indirectly, and operations will no longer be safe.
Throughout my research, I have came to conclusion that the Commercial Space Industry has many opportunities for you, my fellow aviation peers. With opportunities comes many qualifications that a person must have to land a job in such industry. Other than some preferred qualifications, the FAA does a great job setting the minimum requirements for pilots of human spaceflights. Below are some of those requirements.
- A person must possess an FAA pilot certificate with an instrument rating.
- A person must have a Class 1 medical certificate.
- A person must train in operating aircraft, wearing assigned pressure suits.
- A person must a have a strong knowledge in the following fields:
- Aerodynamics
- High-Altitude Operations
- Rocket Machineries
- Aerospace Physiology
- Ballistic Flights
- Re-Entry Flights
- A person must be training on several emergency procedures.
- A person must have experience in jet fighting, as he or she will be familiar with traveling at higher speeds than normal.
With that being said, most jobs in the industry are given to fighter pilots, test pilots, and commercial airlines pilots who have flying hours in excess of at least 3000 hours.
References
Mann, A. (2017, July 21). So you want to be a space tourist? Here are you options. Retrieved February 22, 2018, from https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/so-you-want-be-space-tourist-here-are-your-options-ncna784166
Www.faa.gov. (2017, September 27). Office of Commercial Space Transportation. Retrieved February 22, 2018, from https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/regulations/
(Www.spacefuture.com), P. W. (n.d.). Space Tourism - The Story So Far. Retrieved February 22, 2018, from http://www.spacefuture.com/tourism/timeline.shtml
I share the same interest as you. Yea it would be cool to go to space but I don't see myself being able to afford a ticket costing that much money. I do hope that one day, our process and technology will be advanced enough so that more people would be able to afford the trip. You showed good research into the history before Tito in 2001. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI like how you broke down the general requirements for pilots of human transport spaceflights. They are intense but not as stringent as I might have guessed. Because the field is developing and evolving so rapidly I'm sure the FAA regulations will evolve as well. Nice research and insights.
ReplyDeletePilot Gano-
ReplyDeleteVery informative, I appreciate that. Let me give you a brief history on how we once had a Super Sonic Aircraft. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Concorde, seats would cost $10,000 and up, but it got you from point A to B much quicker. But that all ended when there was some debris left on the runway from the previous aircraft. The Concorde ran over the debris on the runway during takeoff, blowing a tire and puncturing a fuel tank; the subsequent fire and engine failure caused the aircraft to crash, two minutes after takeoff, killing all passengers. Even though this was the only accident in during its 27-year operation history, it was considered the nation’s best aircraft that was ever built. My point is when it takes so much money and time into trying to perfect an aircraft that would take people to the next level and then all sudden it crashes. All those hopes, money and time put into that hard work, gets put on hold due to all that they’ve done to create this new level of accomplishment. Organizations thinks twice about getting back out there and for that, time turns into long delays in waiting to get passed with the new certification and funds, from private or commercial interests. Therefore, it’s in snail mode and will continue to for a very long time ahead.
Pilot Gano, it was really interesting reading your blog, especially because we have two different views regarding how the space tourism will develop in the future. In my opinion, in a not too far future, hopefully, not only the concept of space tourism will be a real thing but also the prices for it will be drastically lowered, without affecting the safety aspect. I say this because, who would had thought in 1903, after having seen the first flight of the Wrights Brothers, that air transportation would had been a real thing and almost within everybody’s reach from an economic point of view. For this reason, I personally believe that one day traveling across the space with a spacecraft will be as common as travelling with an aircraft nowadays.
ReplyDelete-Nenne747-
Pragmatically - space tourism is only for the wealthy - in line with the sort of ultimate private island resort access and bragging rights. Theoretically - space tourism does not have to be for only the wealthy - as technologies in the past hundred years have actually evolved much quicker than the centuries before this expansive period. While in our lifetime, let’s say sixty to a hundred years duration, if long lived - this too may extend through technology - we personally will probably not experience space tourism. Unless becoming one of the fortunate few to obtain minority wealth. However, technology may advance and space faring may just become a standardized industry - much like that of the airline industry of today, and the automotive industry that came before. These industries are now widely used and accessible by many people. Not all. From the first world citizen perspective, I have far more access to opportunities than many billions of my brothers and sisters on this earth. For that, I believe it’s important to recognize the power of my actions and the imprints they may leave in my wake. You might naturally question the philosophical divergence of my post from the topic. I think that “space tourism” will be the first era, inaccessible to but the smallest minority, then “space infrastructure” will follow, setting the stage – in orbit – for “space exploration” and then “space habitation.” It’s arguably certain that humanity has made incredibly destructive impact upon this earth we call home; possibly irreversible damage, of which we must discontinue if we expect to continue to exist as a species in this place. However, we may one day need to exit this home of ours and set off in search for a new one. For that, we will likely look back and recognize how the infancy of the space industry was very similar to the transitions from balloon to airplane, horse to automobile, steam to electricity, stone to alloy, gathering to cultivating. Our perspective is very limited and brief – life is only a blip for us. Our generations to follow, they will probably look back, laugh, sigh, shake their heads and think – how primitive our ancestors were. An idea perhaps, I believe and prefer that we remain curious and striving towards constant improvement, not for our aims directly, but for the generations of our children to hopefully follow. By the way, we know for all intent and purpose… “practically nothing” about the universe outside of our scope of sense and comprehension… even more, we stand “essentially ignorant” and have yet to learn and understand fully about ourselves as humans and the earth we inhabit with other living things. One might say that space might not be our greatest concern, perhaps we should be peering inwards first, rather than into the vastness of the unknown beyond our sphere. I really enjoyed your post. P.s. Ronaldo Reagan was a hell of a laugh. A few other typo / prose issues but all in all, very well presented. I do too hope to fly in space!
ReplyDelete–Aviator in Progress