Recent explosion of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo raises new questions about regulations for space tourism
The race to build a new industry
Many companies including Virgin Galactic are racing to make commercial space tourism a viable option. SpaceX seeks to make space travel routine and is quickly becoming a key player in the colonization of Mars. Amazon.com’s founder Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin, which is currently researching technologies to make space travel more affordable, since tickets currently run at a couple hundred thousand dollars per person. Hotel owner Robert Bigelow is looking to develop large living modules for both research and tourism.
The privatization of the space industry has been a topic of discussion even before NASA decided to retire their Space Shuttle Program in during the summer of 2011. The program had been around for thirty years and employed thousands of workers, but NASA decided to devote its resources to sending astronauts beyond low-earth orbit, to an asteroid, back to the moon, and eventually to Mars, in addition to designing a new multi-purpose crew vehicle (MPCV) designed to take crew outward into the solar system.
But NASA did have a hand in the development of a private space industry and the firms that are at the forefront of the race have a history of work with NASA. The Commercial Orbital Transport Services program (COTS) was started by the US government in 2006 under the flexibility of the Space Act agreements. NASA subsidized the development and testing of commercial replacements for the aging and costly space shuttle by rewarding firms for attaining certain milestones, and the program resulted in unprecedented successes. It produced two American companies with the capability of launching payloads equivalent to NASAs, critical redundancy for US military launches, and could provide the first entirely commercial space-travel options for average citizens. The first milestone for these private industries was passed in 2013 with the almost simultaneous launching of a Falcon 9 rocket and the docking of a Cygnus capsule with the international space station.
A promising start ends in disaster
The Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo was designed to be able to carry six passengers and two pilots, offering passengers views of 1,000 miles in each direction. After being flown to around 50,000 feet by jet, it would be boosted by rocket engines to shoot into space at 3.5 times the speed of sound to as high as 62 miles in 90 seconds.
However, during what was reportedly a test of a new type of rocket fuel on Friday, October 31, the craft exploded over the Mojave Desert in Kern County, California. The explosion occurred after the craft was released from the aircraft the carries it to a high altitude, resulting in the death of the copilot and the injury of the pilot.
Virgin Galactic’s website currently states that they cannot comment on the investigation and that all questions should be directed to the National Transportation Safety Board, who is currently in charge of the investigation. This is followed by the statement that safety is still the first priority in efforts to explore this last frontier.
Effects on the future of space industry regulations
Last week’s accident raises questions of how that safety can be assured, on the part of policymakers, as people begin to ask if the enormous risks associated with space travel have been correctly analyzed and addressed. As demonstrated by this accident and the history of fatal accidents associated with the US and Russian space programs, there are a multitude of risks that must be taken into account, along with the knowledge and preparedness to deal with unforeseen complications.
Discussions of this aspect of the issue tend to be rare, as most of the public seems to be enthralled by just the idea of the possibility of taking a trip into space without having to undergo the rigorous training of professional astronauts. However, it has become clearer in recent years that it might be necessary for government oversight in the process of technological development before the companies begin to seek approval for flights. This seems to be a serious concern, especially considering that fact that Virgin Galactic has already sold tickets for passengers to fly aboard the rocket on a mission next year, at the price of 250,000 a seat. Yet one reporter, who is currently writing a book about Virgin’s SpaceShipOne program, stated in an interview with NPR that she doubts that Virgin Galactic will be able to fully operate in that business for a long time, at least five years from now.
It does not seem like these accidents should raise doubts about the ability of private venture companies to successfully establish a thriving space tourism industry. It is likely a small setback in a long and complicated process. Nevertheless, it does raise the question of the level of federal oversight that should be part of these ventures, and what role the government would occupy in the industry’s development.