General Public Space Travel and Tourism –

Volume 1 Executive Summary

Daniel O’Neil, Compiler

Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama

Ivan Bekey and John Mankins

NASA Headquarters, Washington D.C.

Thomas F. Rogers and Eric W. Stallmer

Space Transportation Association, Arlington, Virginia

Summary of a Space Act Agreement Study, including

a workshop held at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

February 19-21, 1997

National Aeronautics

and Space Administration

Marshall Space Flight Center

 March 1998
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iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IV

SUMMARY...........................................................................................1

GENERAL ............................................................................................3

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................4

WORKING FORUMS ...............................................................................6

The National General Public Space Travel and Tourism Study Steering Group .......6

The General Public Space Travel and Tourism Workshop ................................6

THE PROSPECTS FOR GENERAL PUBLIC SPACE TRAVEL AND TOURISM.......8

Space Transportation and Destination Facilities Considerations.........................8

Passengers, Crew, Life Support and Insurance Considerations...........................9

Regulation, Certification, Legislation, Policy and Environmental Considerations. .1 0

Near-term Regulatory Issues............................................................................................... 11

Near-term Policy Issues..................................................................................................... 11

Longer-term Issues........................................................................................................... 11

Financial, Economic, Business Planning and Market Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1

Initial Ground Facilities, Space Tourism Theme Parks and Other Orbital Trip

“Precursor” Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 2

Research and Technology Development Requirements, and Use of Existing Space

Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 3

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 6

Findings......................................................................................................................... 16

Recommendations............................................................................................................ 18

A FINAL OBSERVATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 1

SOME GENERAL REFERENCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 2

APPENDIX A TOURISM SURVEY RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 4

APPENDIX B STUDY LEADERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 5

APPENDIX C STEERING GROUP MEMBERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 7

APPENDIX D WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 9

APPENDIX E SPACE ACT AGREEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 1
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GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS

ASTP Advanced Space Transportation Program

CSTS Commercial Space Transportation Study

EO Earth-Orbit (transportation)

HRST Highly Reusable Space Transportation

IRR Internal Rate of Return

ISS International Space Station

LEO Low Earth Orbit

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

PST&T Public Space Travel and Tourism

R&D Research and Development

RLV Reusable Launch Vehicle

ROI Return on Investment

STA Space Transportation Association

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SUMMARY

Travel and tourism is one of the world's largest businesses. Its gross revenues exceed $400

billion per year in the U.S. alone, and it is our second largest employer.

U.S. private sector business revenues in the space information area now approximate $10 billion

per year, and are increasing rapidly. Not so in the human spaceflight area. After spending $100s

of billions (1998 dollars) in public funds thereon, and continuing to spend over $5 billion per

year, the government is still the only customer for human spaceflight goods and services.

Serious and detailed consideration was first given to the possibility of space being opened up to

trips by the general public three decades ago, and some initial attempts to do so were made a

dozen years ago. But the difficulties were great and the Challenger disaster put an end to them.

In recent years professional space tourism studies have been conducted in the United Kingdom,

Germany and, especially, Japan. In the U.S., technological progress has been pronounced; we

have had nearly a decade's experience in seeing our astronauts travel to-from low Earth orbit

safely, and we expect to commence assembly of a LEO space station housing a half-dozen people

this year. Too, NASA and our space industry now have new and promising space transportation

development programs underway, especially the X-33 and X-34 programs, and some related,

further generation, basic technology development programs. And five private companies are also

working on the design of new surface - LEO vehicles.

The first professional space tourism market studies have been conducted in several countries in

the past few years, especially in Japan and here. The U.S. study makes it clear that,

conceptually, tens of millions of us would like to take a trip to space if we could do so with

reasonable safety, comfort and reliability, and at an acceptable price. Initial businesses will

address the desires of those willing to pay a greater price and accept a greater risk.

A two-year cooperative Space Act agreement study has been conducted by our National

Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Space Transportation Association. It was

conducted by NASA and STA study leaders drawing upon the competence, experience and hardnosed imagination of a national Steering Group and scores of attendees at a multi-day Workshop.

The study has involved scores of professionals and business people from various areas:

astronauts; space booster technology and operations professionals; a hotel architect and a hotel

operator; an airline planner; insurance underwriters; space sickness experts; space theme park

designers; space and travel and tourism association and business executives; a space-related

financier; university tourism and space policy experts; present and former space-responsible

government officials; space entrepreneurs; space writers; ... .

This study concludes that serious national attention should now be given to activities that would

enable the expansion of today's terrestrial space tourism businesses, and the creation of in-space

travel and tourism businesses. Indeed, it concludes that, in time, it should become a very

important part of our Country's overall commercial and civil space business-program structure.

For it offers new personal and business opportunities that would capitalize upon our great and

continuing human spaceflight public expenditures and make additional use of our reservoir of

space professionals, facilities and institutions.

The study also makes specific suggestions about how our Federal government, particularly the

Departments of Commerce and Transportation, and the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration, should cooperate with each other and with private sector aerospace and travel and

tourism business interests to hasten the creation of a sound and potentially very large spacerelated business. They could do so by supporting both terrestrial and space tourism

merchandising; by developing early and appropriately beneficial vehicle, hotel and space trip
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regulation; by seeing the best use made of our human spaceflight assets -- our professional

astronaut corps, the Shuttle fleet and the International Space Station; by seeing our space leaders

consider taking trips to space themselves; and by supporting research and development activities

designed to increase the safety, reliability and comfort of general public passenger-carrying space

trips -- both in vehicles and orbiting hotels -- and to reduce the cost per passenger -- all by several

factors of ten.

Judgments must be somewhat reserved as to when a large space business can be created

inasmuch as, to date, our aerospace industry has principally served human spaceflight objectives

delineated and paid for by the Federal government, whereas private space travel and tourism

services must be provided in a free enterprise, privately financed, fashion. That is,

entrepreneurial drives and fortunes, and the true character of the marketplace, will decide how

and when the general public will begin to take trips to/from space. Already, private interests are

working on initial space trip vehicle designs, and travel and tourism business interests are

offering initial space trip services that could begin in the next few years. The future is almost

upon us -- carpe diem.
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GENERAL

Today space travel and tourism trips are limited to on the surface opportunities and "zero-gravity"

trips in aircraft. Even so, over 10 million people each year visit a space museum, a space camp,

a rocket launch-recovery site and government space R&D centers -- a business estimated to

approximate $1 billion per year. This business could be expanded, especially if our general

public could see programs underway that specifically offer the promise of trips to/from space

becoming available early in the next decade. And its expansion would attract entrepreneurs and

investment attention to in-space business possibilities.

Zero-gravity aircraft trips are now becoming more widely available, and other trips using a new

kind of vehicle taking people up to very high altitudes should become available within the next

few years. And the Shuttle fleet, now becoming privatized, could carry a very few of our general

public to orbit every year for general public space tourism research and merchandising purposes.

To move beyond this to generally available trips to orbit and week-long stays in LEO hotels now

can be seen as certainly feasible, and some of the required basic space transportation and

habitation technological-operational advances required to do so are already underway.

The U.S. government is committed to working cooperatively with private space transportation

interests to drive down today's Shuttle costs of hundreds of millions each trip with the

anticipation that, with new kinds of vehicles, this cost could be lowered to tens of millions. This

translates into lowering the per person trip cost from hundreds of thousands of dollars using

today's technology to tens of thousands of dollars when next generation technology becomes

available, airline-like operations are adopted and very large markets are served. In parallel, safety

and reliability will increase by several factors of ten. And we will begin to learn how to acquire

and operate safe permanent housing for people in space with the International Space Station

program.

During the cooperative NASA-STA study thoughtful space-related professionals and travel and

tourism business people concluded that private, high priced "adventure" trips to space with

greater than today's commercial airline risk could become possible in the next few years. Much

larger scale, lower priced, orbital operations, could commence in the decade thereafter. But, in

order to see this possibility realized, a number of psychological, technological, operational and

institutional inhibitions must be overcome and investments of $ billions made. The study

discusses this possibility in detail and suggests government and private sector courses of action

that would see this possibility realized.

The Country must now move in this direction. We should begin to think out, in some detail, the

public and private investment steps to be taken, always keeping in mind that the future, especially

in a democratic free enterprise economy, is shaped by free choices that people will often make in

unexpected ways. When truly sophisticated vehicle-fleets carry 100,000s of us to space each

year, we will have created a new space business at least as large as today's satellite

communications business, have changed our personal views about space profoundly, and begun

the clear incorporation of space activities directly into our daily business and private lives.
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INTRODUCTION

The travel and tourism business is among the largest in the world. In the United States

alone, travel and tourism generate sales of more than $400 billion per year. This translates into

jobs: the travel and tourism business is the second largest employer in the U.S.

Recently, the idea of extending travel and tourism beyond the surface of the Earth has

been increasingly suggested -- trips by ordinary people to space, not as scientists or

technologists, but for personal reasons including adventure, recreation and business. This idea is

not a new one; it has been examined several times in the past 30 years and some initial abortive

attempts to commence actual travel and tourism businesses took place in the U.S. a dozen years

ago. Early in this decade the Japanese Rocket Society encouraged the conduct of broad space

tourism studies, including market studies. In 1994, the (then) six major U.S. aerospace firms

concluded in their Commercial Space Transportation Study (CSTS) that general public space

travel and tourism had the potential to become a very large market if space transportation safety

and reliability could be sharply increased, and per passenger costs could be reduced,

substantially. (See the General References.)

The latest professional space travel and tourism market survey -- one conducted in the

United States by non-space interests -- clearly suggests that very many (tens of millions)

“average” American adults can envision themselves taking a trip to space (as they imagine, today,

what such a future trip would be like) and, altogether, paying a great sum to do so. (See

Appendix A.)

However, substantial obstacles remain that prevent the immediate creation of a large scale

business.

Today, the cost of access to space for people using currently operational vehicles remains

very high; a half-dozen astronauts can accompany the delivery of payloads to space on Shuttle

trips that cost some $400 million each. In addition, the safety and reliability of operational space

transportation vehicles is presently far too low: a risk of some 1-in-100 of failure involving

fatalities may be acceptable today for government missions and for a few adventure travelers, but

not for airline-like general public passenger-carrying operations which will have to be safer by

several factors of ten.

Finally, there has been a persistent lack of credibility because now it is generally thought

that only NASA and the Russian government can send people to space and that they must be

highly trained professional astronauts. This so-called giggle factor is especially prevalent among

some experienced aerospace systems engineers unfamiliar with potential new capabilities that are

inherent in recent technological advances and the increased insistence of the Congress that public

spending in space result in greater economic growth, especially in the human spaceflight area.

And they may not recall the enormous strides made in commercial aviation over just a few

decades. The general public is actually more accepting of the idea of public space travel than

these engineers.

Fortunately, critical advances have been made during the past decade in many of the

technologies that can enable non-astronaut human space travel to become both technically and

economically feasible, and more are foreseen. As a result, the potential exists for the creation, in

the next very few decades, of a $10-20 billion... per year “general public space travel and

tourism” business.

Too, initial steps can be taken at the surface, then in the atmosphere and later in space so

that early profitability and experience, and credibility-creating activities, can begin prior to full

orbital trips and long-term stays there.
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During 1996-1997, the Space Transportation Association (STA) and the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have, through a cooperative Space Act

agreement, conducted a study of the potential for future general public space travel and tourism

businesses. Several important findings were made. In their light, suggestions concerning what

must be done to surmount the barriers to this business creation have been formulated.

Although several significant issues were identified, consensus grew within this study that

the aerospace industry and travel and tourism interests, working in partnership with each other

and with the Federal government where appropriate, could overcome all identified obstacles and

that a viable, and potentially very large, general public space travel and tourism business could

begin to be created over the next decade or so.

The basic objective of the NASA-STA study was to determine the feasibility of a

commercially viable, general public space travel and tourism business being created in the

U.S. through private initiatives with private resources, along with government encouragement,

cooperation, and key scientific research and technology development investments.

As indicated, it is believed that such a business could grow to have great benefits for the

U.S. economy while, at the same time, substantially increasing public interest in space activities

generally. For, once the sharply increased safety and reliability, and sharply decreased unit costs

required for large scale space tourism businesses to succeed have been achieved, many other

things could then be done in space using such markedly advanced space capabilities.

 (The STA-NASA study leaders are listed in Appendix B.)
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WORKING FORUMS

 The National General Public Space Travel and Tourism Study Steering Group 

 A General Public Space Travel and Tourism National Steering Group for the NASA-STA

study was formed in the Fall of 1996. This Group conducted a preliminary assessment of the

opportunities and problems faced by those who could be interested in forming space travel and

tourism businesses, and it found that the former are inviting and, in principle, the latter are

tractable. The Steering Group outlined a framework for a General Public Space Travel and

Tourism Workshop (described below), and many of its members participated personally therein.

Finally, a draft of this Report (Volume One) was provided to the Steering Group by the STANASA study leaders and members of the Steering Group participated in its editing. (The

members of the National Steering Group are identified in Appendix C.)

 The General Public Space Travel and Tourism Workshop 

 To develop the concept of general public space travel and tourism further, and to bring

together representatives from our space-related government and university interests, the travel

and tourism business, the financial community and the aerospace industry, a Workshop was held

during February 19-21, 1997. The primary purpose of this Workshop, which was held at the

Georgetown University's Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center, was to define what must be done

in order to allow this new and potentially large space-related market to develop and to generate

preliminary strategic concepts, milestones and organizational constructs toward that end. The

Workshop was planned to have a relaxed, working atmosphere to encourage the flow of ideas.

Participants worked in teams to discuss the following topics:

• Space Transportation and Destination Facilities

• Passengers, Crew, Life Support and Insurance Considerations

• Regulation, Certification, Legislation, Policy and Environmental Issues

• Financial, Economic, Business Planning and Market Considerations

• Initial Ground Facilities, Space Tourism Theme Parks and other Orbital Trip

“Precursor” Considerations

• Research and Technology Development Requirements, and Use of Existing Space

Assets

 Participants included:

• Travel and tourism business leaders

• Hotel architect, airline and business leaders

• Insurance interests

• Aerospace entrepreneurs

• Aerospace technical experts

• Space health and medical experts

 The objectives of each of the several working sessions were: (a) to develop a detailed

statement of the topic, (b) to identify key issues associated with general public space travel and

tourism, (c) to identify opportunities to eliminate barriers, and (d) to make recommendations for

future action. By the end of the Workshop, each of the teams formulated a series of findings

which were captured in both a presentation to the Workshop as a whole and in white papers

provided to the NASA-STA study leaders. These results were integrated with other information
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sources (see, for instances, Volume Two and the General References) by these leaders to form

the kernel of this NASA-STA study final Report.

 The strong consensus view of the Workshop was that there is a very real potential for a large,

profitable, commercially-driven general public space travel and tourism business to begin to

develop beginning a very few years from now.

 (A list of the Workshop participants is provided in Appendix D.)
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THE PROSPECTS FOR GENERAL PUBLIC SPACE TRAVEL AND

TOURISM

 Space Transportation and Destination Facilities Considerations 

 Getting into and back from space safely and reliably, and for an acceptable price and in

reasonable comfort, and having somewhere to go there, are fundamental to the concept of general

public space travel and tourism. Areas for consideration are far-ranging, and include space

transportation vehicles and their operation (both opportunities to use existing vehicles and the

development of specialized transports) and space "habitats" and other facilities in space which

will eventually serve as destinations. Some kinds of initial space transportation vehicles would

likely also serve as habitats in short duration trips, while space residences would eventually

develop to support longer term stays, much as in earth-bound travel.

 Appropriate passenger-carrying Earth-Orbit transport vehicles are clearly essential. These may

well be feasible in the relatively near future but, depending upon their size and the overall length

and sophistication of the trips, required investment costs could be high -- in extreme cases, very

high. At present, there are several Federal government-aerospace industry and several purely

private sector programs underway that, to various extents, can be visualized as providing some

initial space travel and tourism capability. Dramatic advances in propulsion systems and

structures are needed to see the lowest unit cost vehicle and largest service market develop. The

probable costs to develop these systems will be high and government R&D co-investments are

needed.

 Validation of the real market for general public space travel and tourism is going to be an

essential step. A central issue will be: is it possible to get that validation with current vehicles?

In principle, the Shuttle fleet and small-scale trips using vehicles now under development could

explore the market incrementally.

 A notional -- but not at all improbable -- concurrent market and system-service development

sequence might follow a path such as:

• enlarged terrestrial space-related travel and tourism businesses

• increasingly higher altitude adventure tourist sub-orbital trips

• global sub-orbital space plane package delivery and passenger-carrying services

• short duration adventure tourist orbital trips

• longer duration orbital trips, including stays at Low Earth Orbit destinations

 Eventually, supra-LEO trips would be taken, but this study is limited to the consideration of trips

to no higher altitudes than LEO.

 Although services could be initiated with passengers living in the transport vehicle (as

current astronauts do in the Space Shuttle), destination residential facilities will eventually have to

be developed. In both cases zero-gravity "sickness" problems must be solved, generally, or

artificial gravity provided. Fortunately, there is much attention being paid to the former and

studies have shown that the latter is possible.

 LEO residential facilities will be sophisticated and expensive undertakings compared to those

on the surface. Ultimately, providing levels of comfort and privacy that are comparable to very

large and successful terrestrial ocean cruise lines will be a very strong driver for the acquisition of

improved in-space infrastructure.
9

 As is often the case in the creation of a new kind of business, issues and arguments tend to be

circular: both markets and financing are dependent on each other already being in place. Some

use of such government facilities as the Shuttle and the U.S. portion of the International Space

Station (ISS) is very highly desirable inasmuch as (a) general public passenger R&D is required,

(b) key technologies and subsystems operations must be demonstrated, and (c) general public

merchandising demonstrations would be invaluable. Too, having the ISS close by and

cooperating with early residential facility use could be comforting to architects, builders,

operators and guests.

 Passengers, Crew, Life Support and Insurance Considerations 

 The “human” issues and problems associated with public space travel and tourism are no

 less important than the technological challenges of getting them to/from space. There is the need

to identify the accommodations that will be required to support the general public; the need for

experienced crew and attendants and their likely functions; the need for life support equipment

that will be required in passenger vehicles and habitats; space sickness, its effects, and its

countermeasures and their implications; flight and hull insurance -- all, hopefully, at an early

moment. Numerous issues must be resolved and actions taken before safe, large scale,

comfortable and routine general public space travel and tourism can begin.

 There appear to be a variety of options called for beyond terrestrial, and lower atmosphere

space travel and tourism, including varying costs, accommodations, and levels of preparedness

and acceptable risk-taking by various kinds of future passengers.

 These could include:

• sub-orbital trips (lasting less than 1 hr; all in the space transportation vehicle)

• three orbit trips (lasting up to 5 hours; all in the space transportation vehicle)

• three day trips (possibly including a LEO facility)

• resort packages (with stays of 1-2 weeks at a LEO facility and possibly even extrafacility activities)

 For any of these cases, the transport vehicle and any in-space facility must provide

 accommodations with certain minimal personal and social standards. These include: safety,

privacy, baggage handling, entertainment, training and exercise facilities, and easy to operate

toilets, showers, eating-drinking facilities, and medical capabilities (in situ plus telemedicine).

For instance, gravity loads during launch and re-entry should be limited to some 2 times that of

surface gravity.

 One of the major issues concerning general public space travel and tourism (especially during

early, relatively short duration trips) is the prevention and/or the amelioration of space

 sickness in "zero gravity". Nearly half of all people who have gone into space have

 experienced nausea and become ill because of the lack of gravity. Untreated, nausea and

 other effects can last for period ranging from a few hours to several days. However, there are

steps that can be taken. First, medication exists which will help almost all individual travelers.

Although this medication is inappropriate for a Space Shuttle pilot because of its side effect of

drowsiness, there is no present reason to believe that it cannot provide relief to many/most

passengers. In addition, for longer term stays, techniques exist by which artificial gravity could

be created which would prevent essentially all space sickness. For the latter case, technologicaloperational approaches range from spinning centrifuges or turntables operating inside an
10

otherwise “zero-gravity” habitat for short stays, all the way to large-scale rotating habitats that

could provide as much as Earth-normal gravity on long stays.

 Overall, the issue of accommodations, life support and other amenities provided for the

paying clients of a space travel and tourism business requires careful consideration. These can be

expected to vary in scale and type depending upon the character and expectations of the travelers

(especially the ones who could be identified as “adventure tourists”) and on the duration of an

individual’s stay in space.

 Another important consideration will be the size and skills of the crew providing support and

personal services to the passengers. (Reflecting upon the early days of commercial aviation’s

passenger service accommodations could be helpful.) In order to assure confidence in comfort

and safety a relatively large crew will probably be needed. Members of such crews will need

exceptional people skills to handle the situations that are bound to arise in such an “alien”

situation -- informing without alarming, and calming without isolating when there are problems.

Some or all crew members must also have appropriate medical training. In addition, adequate

medical facilities must be provided locally, commensurate with the duration of the particular

services being provided. Also, for longer duration trips (e.g., for a week-long stay) and where a

greater degree of physical exertion may be expected (such as in-space sports) an appropriately

trained and experienced physician must be available.

 Appropriate and thorough passenger preparation will be essential. This may very well

include specialized training in some cases. For example, a working familiarity with the systems

on board the residential facility might be a useful aspect of assuring health and safety. Rather

than being a burden, it may well prove that preparation activities are a valued part of the overall

public space travel and tourism experience (perhaps like attending a space camp). Broad

experience in the preparation process itself could well become a terrestrial revenue-generating

element of an overall general public space travel and tourism business.

 Even after the technologies needed to make travel and tourism service affordable have

matured and the systems have been developed, tested and deployed, uncertainties and risks

 will remain. This will be true for in-space facilities, but it will be especially true for EO

transports. Passenger, crew and vehicle insurance could become available, but would be

expensive until transports are proven to be reliable by repeated usage over time. The "third

party" liability issue must be addressed by both the vehicle developers and operators, and the

Federal government, and this matter is now receiving increased attention. Practices similar to

those employed on other so-called “adventure travel” trips, such as mountain climbing in the

Himalayas where tourists sign a waiver of liability and proceed at their own risk, may be

applicable in this case as well.

 Again, both transports and hotels must be designed, developed and operated with basic

general public physical, psychological and social considerations in mind.

 Regulation, Certification, Legislation, Policy and Environmental Considerations 

 A myriad of legal and regulatory aspects of public space travel and tourism must be resolved

before viable large scale businesses can emerge. This is especially true of those public agencies

with the responsibility to regulate in the interest of public safety. This includes identification of

public policies and/or laws that exist or must be enacted to enable business formation, licensing,

certification and approval processes for both passengers and vehicles, clearance and over-flight

considerations, and environmental and safety issues including atmospheric pollution, solar

radiation (flares) and orbital debris.
11

 National and international regulatory issues will affect general public space travel and

tourism significantly. It will be crucial to assure both the Congress and the general public that

this new business is considered to be safe by reasonable standards and acceptable by those who

would take space trips. For example, it might be reasonable to expect that the earliest services

will be safe by the standards of sky-diving, but not by the standards of today's commercial

aviation; recall that the latter required improvement over decades to reach its present high level.

Whatever standards are applied, it will be important to streamline regulatory processes and to

establish uniformity in those standards and their application.

 Near-term Regulatory Issues 

 Experimental flight regulations; spaceport regulations

 Waiver of liability; space traffic management

 Near-term Policy Issues 

 Use of government assets; privatization of zero-gravity flights

 Authority to license reentry vehicles

 Longer-term Issues 

 Certification of commercial transport systems operations

 Property rights: claims registry, deeds and liens, noninterference

 Environment: noise and debris, overland supersonic flights

 Removal or mitigation of orbital debris

 Financial, Economic, Business Planning and Market Considerations 

 The ability to start viable businesses that offer diverse services of various scales and prices

will be the ultimate test for the realization of the concept of general public space travel and

tourism. Financial planning, capital needs and sources, and the creation of viable business plans

are fundamental to creating a sound new business area.

 This study is not recommending any specific ventures inasmuch as these remain the purview

of the private sector and its judgment regarding business opportunities, but it does identify

general issues and classes of opportunities.

 For instance, the early years of space tourism flights should be in vehicles whose operations

are licensed under the existing authority of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space

Transportation in the FAA-DOT. This office already licenses space cargo launches, and has the

statutory authority to closely monitor the safety related policies, procedures, and operations and

equipment of launch operators.

 After some years of experience with various vehicle types and potential failure modes, the

Federal government then could formulate standards for certification of passenger spaceships.

This evolution to certification would free spaceship operators of the need for specific approval for

each trip that is required under the licensing regime.

 Major uncertainties that will affect the initiation of general public space travel and tourism

business startups include: market demand and elasticity; transport vehicle acquisition and O&M

costs; trip price; trip safety, reliability and comfort; and insurance and regulatory burdens.

Notional business models suggest that profitability of eventually truly large scale service

operation will depend on per orbital trip costs of not more than about $1-2 Million (roughly 100
12

times less than Space Shuttle costs and 10 times less than today’s Reusable Launch Vehicle

program goal). In addition, an overall safety of 0.9999+ (roughly 100 times better than Shuttle)

will be needed. Vehicles should be designed able to return to Earth and land safely if required by

any space trip emergency. Finally, high utilization of the space transportation vehicles will be

critical -- including turnaround times of some 24 hours (roughly 100 times shorter than today's

individual Shuttle experience).

 As these technical-operational goals are achieved, the price per ticket could drop below

$50,000 per passenger, and might eventually reach the range of $10,000-$20,000. (By that

time, if U.S. economic growth continues at the same rate as the past decade, in effect prices, in

1997 dollars, could be reduced by a factor of some 1.5X, and over 10 million households could

have incomes, in 1997 dollars, of over $100,000 per year.) Market forecasts all suggest large

real markets, but vary significantly in their predictions of market elasticity. However, with ticket

prices well below $50,000, it is believed that there could be the order of 500,000 space trip

passengers/year. (Transporting these many people/year would require the carrying to/from space

of hundreds of millions of pounds of payload per year -- roughly 1,000 times more than today’s

total U.S. civil, commercial and industry annual space trip payload, but still many factors of ten

less than is carried by commercial airlines.)

 Some notional business models that have been constructed suggest that, then, high annual

internal rates of return may be achievable. However, it is recognized that such results are

crucially dependent upon market elasticity surveys and space transportation service cost estimates

that are at early stages of development. They each have major uncertainties and the general

public's present trip expectations could change over a decade's time; therefore, such economic

feasibility projections could be in substantial error and they should be updated every few years.

 As a part of the business start-up process, incremental business formation involving niche

markets will be vital. For example, poll data indicate that some people would go on very

expensive "space adventure trips" now -- even at prices approaching $1 million per ticket and

with substantial physical risk. As part of this process, a carefully planned public relations and

merchandising campaign is needed to improve public awareness of this opportunity and to

change public perceptions of risks and viability. This is essential not just from the standpoint of

informing eventual clients, but also from that of satisfying the concerns of potential investors.

The perceived level of risk and uncertainty in a general public space travel and tourism venture

will, of course, have a direct bearing on the availability and cost of money for that venture.

 Overall, the assessment to date suggests that if EO transportation system-services can be

developed that demonstrate acceptable safety, reliability, comfort and affordability, and are sized

to serve large enough markets, financially viable general public space travel and tourism

businesses can be created by the private sector.

And it is judged that, once public in-space trips of any character commence and continue with

regularity, today’s terrestrial space tourism businesses would flourish.

Initial Ground Facilities, Space Tourism Theme Parks and Other Orbital Trip “Precursor” 

 Considerations 

 A variety of ground facilities and activities may be called into play to support successful

formation of general public space travel and tourism enterprises, especially including businesses

that are formed to exploit the latent market demand even before actual in-space trips are available

to the public. These facilities could include theme parks, trip training facilities, and other such

public quasi-entertainment facilities that could develop around future general public space travel

and tourism launch/recovery sites, and whose function it would be both to prepare the public for
13

the space experience and simultaneously to profit from the undertaking. The success of these

businesses could be crucial in raising both public awareness and large amounts of capital for the

actual public in-space travel and tourism to follow. Again, these activities would also serve as

transition activities for the present terrestrial travel and tourism businesses.

 As noted above, Earth-based space travel and tourism already exists and is flourishing.

However, to serve as an effective “precursor” to public in-space travel, terrestrial space travel and

tourism must enlarge its marketing focus from children and adolescents of the "Star Wars"

approach so as to emphasize average, typically very successful, professional adults. Private

business may make a lot of money on these types of facilities and entertainment activities,

including those around a future commercial spaceport, as well as through training camps, space

camps, theme parks, space-related merchandise, etc. Such activities may begin well before

actual in-space trips occur, and they could continue growing once in-space trips become

available.

 A variety of information-oriented “precursor” activities will probably be needed to engender

the rapid creation of a general public space travel and tourism business. For example, greatly

expanded communications efforts are needed to develop space travel and tourism groups and to

promote entertainment in such related applications as movies, prizes, CDs, and books. In

addition, using motion picture and/or other media personalities to promote public space trips may

be a sound strategy. Private, non-profit, organizations (such as the newly created Space Tourism

Society) could lead these information-oriented activities and assist in the building of a consensus

on various issues. This would be an important step.

 For instance, a virtual reality experience could be offered -- one in which, on the surface, a

person led by an astronaut could experience to some degree the characteristics of human

spaceflight. Such experiences can be expected to whet the general public's appetite for "the real

thing".

 Too, it is now time for a few senior Federal officials who have responsibility for our civil and

private sector space interests to consider taking trips to orbit. Their fundamental domain of

responsibility is space itself, not the Earth’s surface, and their doing so could be a graphic signal

to the Country that space trips are no longer to be confined to astronauts. Certainly their personal

participation in opening up space to the general public is as important as sending probes

throughout the solar system. In so doing, they would simply replicate the trips of such Federal

officials as the President and the Secretaries of Defense and State, who oftentimes visit

dangerous areas around the globe to ensure that our Country’s interests are well understood and

supported.

 Finally, it will be important that “precursor” activities provide early revenues to nascent general

public space travel and tourism businesses and create a new public understanding that human

spaceflight activities can be separate and distinct from those of NASA's.

 Research and Technology Development Requirements, and Use of Existing Space Assets 

 There are several appropriate research and technology development activities that the Federal

Government should undertake to allow the future creation of privately-funded general public

space travel and tourism businesses. These include any technology developments or

 demonstrations that are too risky or too long term for the private sector to undertake under novel

market circumstances, and any research programs, such as in life sciences -- all of which are

traditional government undertakings. The Government’s role in advancing our satellite

communications and remote sensing business interests continues to be a useful precedent.
14

 Government-owned space assets, such as the Space Shuttle and the U.S. segment of the

International Space Station should be used for the conduct of scientific, technological and

operational inquiries and, as well, for market-stimulation and initial private citizen trips. National

policy regarding Shuttle fleet operations should be examined in anticipation of the desirability of

allowing this latter use. The privatization of the Shuttle is proceeding well with initial operations

now being conducted by the private sector -- the United Space Alliance. Analogous privatization

of ISS operations should also be seriously studied.

 EO transport vehicles based on current technologies and operating methods are not sufficiently

safe or reliable for widespread general public transport, and they cost too much to operate. For

example, a space travel and tourism business that used a current NASA Space Shuttle configured

to carry 50 people would have to charge some $10 million per ticket just to cover operations and

maintenance costs. In the relatively near term, improvements to the Shuttle vehicles and their

enlarged operations might enable a 2-4 times reduction in these levels. At such prices, it might be

possible to start a business, but it would be one which could only accommodate a few people

each year at best.

 To ensure that the use of costly public assets are used in a fundamentally egalitarian fashion,

private sector interests could explore the use of a national lottery and/or auction with government

cooperation.

 A lottery would provide funds needed to work out the procedures for training and

supporting non-professional space travelers. The purpose of an auction would be to determine at

what price private trip services might be able to sell their initial tickets; the answer would

significantly reduce the uncertainty about the initial market for space tourism, and thus improve

the ability of commercial space travel companies to secure financing for private spaceships. The

lottery and auction would be conducted only twice each, with a lottery and auction for Shuttle

trips and again for combined Shuttle-Space Station trips. After these tests, space tourism would

be conducted solely by private entities. It should be noted that the Department of State's

Immigration and Naturalization Service now conducts an international visa lottery and the Federal

Communications Commission (FCC) has auctioned off use of portions of the electromagnetic

spectrum -- interesting and encouraging precedents.

 In general, the Space Shuttle is suitable for R&D purposes, modest initial “adventure travel”

public uses, and fundamental educational and merchandising activities. While some additional

R&D could be conducted on the International Space Station its capability should be augmented by

a private sector tourist module. Access to these systems would be very helpful in the

development of general public space travel and tourism businesses.

 R&D programs are underway to reduce the unit cost of space access. For example, the

NASA/Lockheed Martin X-33 technology development and demonstration project -- a part of the

Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program -- is investing in both new technologies and operations

approaches. This investment could enable the beginning of more businesses by driving the cost

per ticket down to the order of $100,000 each. However, this level is still too high for the

development of a truly "mass market". Perhaps a lower “loss leader” price could be charged for

Shuttle and/or RLV trips with an acceptable overall profit being obtained by including that from

trip-related surface business activities.

 Through the Advanced Space Transportation (AST) program NASA is also pursuing the

development of technologies which, eventually, could reduce ticket prices to under $50,000.

The program includes:

• Highly reusable engines and vehicles
15

• Combination and/or combined cycle propulsion

• Off-board energy for launch assist or elimination of most propellants

• Advanced manufacturing, operations (including automation and robotics), and thrust

augmentation systems (including upper stages)

• Advanced operations that enable further, dramatic, reductions in the number of ground and

trip personnel

 The validation of these technologies should be pursued in future successors to the X-33

technology demonstration program.

 Staying at an orbital residence for as little as a week would increase the cost of this kind of

general public space travel and tourism significantly. Acceptable unit costs would require more

advanced technology and operating concepts than those being used for the International Space

Station, and the government should initiate R&D activities to lower such infrastructure costs.
16

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 The opening of the frontier of space -- not just to government missions and astronauts, but

now to private individuals and private sector businesses -- is a space challenge of overarching

importance. It is especially important for the democratic United States of America. This study

should play an important role in beginning, in earnest, the process of United States government

and business interests recognizing and overcoming the barriers to large-scale general public

access to space in the early years of the next century. This fundamentally new human experience

could be much closer to being realized than most people now imagine.

 The following are the specific Findings and Recommendations of the study that are expected

to help make this happen.

 Findings 

 The NASA-STA study found that:

• Professional space tourism studies have been conducted in the United Kingdom, Germany

and, especially, Japan. Japanese studies have included conceptual designs for vehicles

that would carry large numbers of tourists.

• In a very real sense, "space tourism" already exists in the United States. It exists in the

form of millions of visitors each year to space-oriented museums, to space

launch/recovery sites and space research and development centers, to a space camp, and in

space-related activities generally. And zero-gravity aircraft trips are becoming available.

• Polls consistently find that public interest in actually going to space continues to be large,

real and widespread. However, very few realize that it is possible (given appropriate

actions) that soon ordinary people, not just highly-trained and government-paid

astronauts, could be able to take a space trip -- as only a very few have since the beginning

of the space age.

• Immediate steps can and should be taken to enlarge today’s terrestrial space travel and

tourism businesses. In addition, small scale enterprises may be able to get started using

very near-term vehicles and/or technologies.

• For instance, two new companies have announced publicly that they are organized to

provide space-related terrestrial and atmospheric trips and to position themselves to offer

100 kilometer altitude trips within 5 years; other companies are known to be considering

offering similar space tourism services.

• Public communications and merchandising can make a significant difference in raising the

level of this awareness. High profile public figures and senior space-responsible Federal

officials could play a very effective role in promotion and education campaigns relating to

general public space travel and tourism.

• Economic return on investment could be sufficiently high to attract capital for large-scale

ventures. But the initial problems to be solved focus upon creating profitable businesses

that serve small markets at high prices. As business moves to do so are successful, and if

major issues are satisfactorily addressed, then the creation of financially viable high

volume-low price businesses could commence.
17

• As a result, general public space travel and tourism has the potential to emerge as a large

and growing commercial business in the early decades of the next century. Our positive

economic experience in the large and rapidly growing private sector satellite

communications, navigation/position-fixing and remote sensing business areas should

encourage this prospect.

• The cost of a Shuttle trip to/from orbit for a half-dozen people (and upwards of 40,000

pounds of cargo) now approximates $400 million, the individual Shuttle trip turn-around

time is about a half-year, and the possibility of a fatal accident about 1%. These spaceflight

characteristics can be reduced by roughly a factor of ten times with a next generation of

technology, and roughly another factor of ten times in a following generation, i.e.,

following the pattern that underlies the success of commercial aviation.

• However, to enable the development of broadly-accessible, "mass markets" for public

space travel and tourism, new, much lower-cost and much higher safety/reliability

transport vehicles are needed, and relatively large-scale and continuing space industry and

government programs will be needed to acquire them.

• The DOD-NASA DC-X/"Clipper Graham" technology development and maturation

programs, and the ongoing cooperative private sector/Federal government X-33 and X-34

programs, are most encouraging steps forward.

• NASA's 1998 Strategic Plan (NASA Policy Directive (NPD-1000 - 1000.1)) moves in the

correct direction when it asks in its "Administrator's Strategic Outlook" section: "How can

we enable revolutionary technological advances to provide ... space travel for anyone,

anytime...?"

• We must learn how to reduce, if not eliminate, general public passenger space sickness

discomfort.

• Very many more rocket launches will heighten concern about launch site noise and

atmospheric pollution, and heighten concern regarding space debris collisions. These

concerns must be realistically addressed.

• And recent Mir experience emphasizes the need for space hotel fire detection and

suppression characteristics among other safety enhancement needs.

• The $ multi-billion per year NASA and DoD space transportation market should be looked

to, as well as the satellite communications market, in considering the required rapid and

confident amortization of acquisition costs of new passenger-carrying vehicle-fleets.

• Limiting the in-space experience to the transportation vehicle is acceptable for initial

business (e.g., "sorties" into space for a short period of time). In this vein, early suborbital trips should become initial stepping stones to later orbital flights.

• However, to enable large-scale market expansion, orbital residential facilities will be

needed. The technologies being developed today (i.e., for the International Space Station)

represent a good starting point, but clearly more work is needed to reduce the cost of

human habitation in space by a large factor.
18

• Regulatory, policy, legislative/statutory and insurance questions must be addressed with

an eye toward balancing public safety with making higher risk adventure travel start-up

businesses possible. These discussions should include several organizations within the

government.

• Creation of the United Space Alliance to operate the Shuttle fleet, which should lead to the

fleet's use for private as well as public use, is an important and positive institutional

change. It could well become the precursor, in the human spaceflight area, of our

aerospace industry looking, entrepreneurially, to the private sector marketplace as well as

the Federal government, for the large new human spaceflight business opportunities.

• Long distance, very high speed sub-orbital passenger and cargo transport prospects are

also emerging, and would be enhanced by any conceptually related Defense vehicle and

operations development programs. These could well furnish the earliest means for

expansion into large-scale space travel.

• Both existing and new non-profit organizations outside the government could play

important roles in enabling public space access to develop as a major new business

activity.

• It should be appreciated by all civil space leaders that a large-scale private sector space

travel and tourism business would strengthen the general public constituency for the

conduct of civil space science and exploration activities, which otherwise will continue to

be increasingly constrained by eroding general public financial support.

• It must be appreciated that widespread space tourism services will become available only

as the marketplace is positively judged by our free enterprise business community, not our

Federal government, and it should also be appreciated that the realization of a large

general public travel and tourism business could take longer than otherwise if one or more

of the following happen(s):

a) Another Challenger-like space accident involving loss of life;

b) A marked and prolonged turndown in our Country’s economic circumstances;

and/or

c) Insufficient appreciation of the true economic dimension of the business by related

aerospace, travel and tourism, and government interests.

 Recommendations 

In order to facilitate the development of a general public space travel and tourism business, the

following steps are recommended:

• Our national space policy should be examined with an eye toward actively encouraging the

creation of a large general public space travel and tourism business.
19

• In the near term, expansion of our terrestrial space travel and tourism businesses should be

encouraged; theme and virtual reality space parks; space camps; training, production and

launch recovery facilities; and other money-making “precursors” to in-space trips should

be considered.

• Space industry companies, space-related financing and insurance interests, theme park

developers, airline and cruise ship operators, hotel architects and operators, adventure tour

operators, ..., all should begin to inform themselves of general public space travel and

tourism business prospects to determine their self interests therein.

• In pursuing these recommendations, it is now most important that a complete spectrum of

people and businesses become engaged: financial, airline, cruise, hotel, terrestrial tourism

and travel, and aerospace. Encouraging the involvement of small businesses and

entrepreneurs is especially important.

• The assistance of existing and/or the creation of new not-for profit, non-government,

organizations (such as a Space Travel and Tourism Association) should be sought to play

a role in the needed communications efforts.

• The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the American Institute of Aeronautics and

Astronautics (AIAA), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the

Travel Industry Association of America (TIAA) should now begin to give increased

business and professional attention to space travel and tourism.

• Universities that offer travel and tourism educational programs should now begin to

consider terrestrial, in-atmosphere and in-space, trips and businesses.

• The Department of Commerce should focus upon coordinating general public space travel

and tourism matters with those of the Departments of Transportation and Defense, NASA,

and our presently evolving space travel and tourism businesses, so that the Federal civil

space program will adequately encourage and support travel and tourism business interests.

The Departments and NASA should also consider how to address this new and potentially

large space business prospect.

• The Federal government's role should be that of cooperating closely with our private sector

to reduce the latter’s initial technological, operational and market risk, much as it has, with

laudable success, in aviation, satellite communications and space remote sensing business

development. It should:

(a) as it does now for our private sector aviation interests, develop and demonstrate

technology that would increase space trip safety, reliability and comfort, and decrease

unit costs -- all by factors of ten; learn how to deal with high rocket launch rate noise,

atmospheric pollution and debris collision concerns; learn how to provide low cost

human habilitation facilities in orbit; and learn how to ameliorate general public

passenger space sickness discomfort;

(b) following on to the NASA Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunity Program

precedent (in which college students performed experiments under microgravity

conditions aboard a NASA KC-135 aircraft) allow the use of such public space assets

as the Shuttle fleet and the U.S. portion of the International Space Station (augmented

by a private module) to conduct general public tourist R&D and initial fundamental
20

“demonstration” merchandising activities -- much as it continues to do, effectively, for

the satellite communications business area;

(c) use its own space transportation needs, costing $ multi-billions per year, imaginatively,

as a market to assist the private sector to amortize, confidently, its large initial vehiclefleet acquisition costs;

(d) inform the general public about space travel and tourism possibilities; such

communications should focus on the idea that ordinary people -- not just astronauts --

should be able to go on a space trip in the relatively near future as a result of

government-private sector cooperation;

(e) see senior Federal officials responsible for our civil and business space interests

consider taking the lead in “opening up space to the general public” by taking trips to

space themselves;

(f) balance, prudently, between regulating for public safety and encouraging business

success under novel operational circumstances; and

(g) cooperate in holding an annual General Public Space Travel and Tourism Conference.

• Government-sponsored R&D investments should specifically address:

a) Driving the per flight costs of space transportation down by 10-100 times in order

to allow lower trip prices to be charged, in particular by developing and maturing

technologies -- including particularly rocket engines -- that would be needed for low

cost and high safety, reliability and comfortable transport vehicles;

b) Driving down the costs of longer duration visits to LEO dramatically, i.e., for

human space habitation, by developing and maturing high safety, low cost and high

reliability technologies;

c) Demonstrating ways to reduce the effects of space sickness to levels acceptable to

the general public;

d) Assuring that high quality, high reliability, "human support" capabilities (such as

emergency rescue and in-space health care) can become available; and

e) Environmental concerns, generally.

• Our X-33 and X-34 cooperative space industry-NASA program leaders should give

specific attention to the prospects of general public space travel and tourism, as should the

private sector space transportation activities of such companies as AeroAstro, Boeing,

Kelly Space, Kistler, Lockheed Martin, Pioneer Rocketplane, Rotary Rocket, Vela

Technology, and others.

• Private sector interests should consider the possibility of using lotteries and/or auctions to

see that early R&D and merchandising trips involving the general public, especially those

that use public assets, are conducted in an egalitarian fashion and paid for with the private

funds that it/they could provide.
21

A FINAL OBSERVATION

In addressing, seriously, the possibility of our private sector providing space travel and

tourism systems and services to the general public we should all appreciate that what is

being discussed here is nothing less than a fundamental challenge to our views of, and

participation in, extra-earth activities. It is not unreasonable to characterize this challenge as

politically, socially and economically revolutionary.

We now see the opportunity of opening up space to the general public -- a "sea change" in

our half-century sense that people in space would continue to be very few in number,

would be limited to highly trained professionals who, at personal physical risk, would

conduct mostly taxpayer supported scientific and technical activities there under

government purview.

Now the dream of very many of us during the Apollo era that we could someday take a trip

to space for our own personal reasons is finally approaching realization.

But bringing this about will require fundamental changes in the way that scientists,

engineers, system-service operators, government officials, investment houses, business

people, industry leaders, entrepreneurs... ., go about creating space-related infrastructure

and offering space-related services.

It is hoped that this report will draw wide attention to a fundamentally new human

dimension of space that can and should be created, and to suggest ways by which many of

us can help to see this come about responsibly and at a relatively early moment.
22

SOME GENERAL REFERENCES

1. "Your Spaceflight Manual -- How You Could Be A Tourist in Space Within Twenty

Years", David Ashford and Patrick Collins; Simon and Schuster, Australia , an

Eddison-Saad edition, London; 1990.

2. The “Special Issue on Space Tourism”, the Journal of Space Technology and Science 

of the Japanese Rocket Society; Vol. 9, No. 1, Spring, 1993.

3. The Second "Special Issue on Space Tourism" by the JRS; Vol. 10, No. 2, Autumn,

1994.

4. "The Commercial Space Transportation Study (CSTS) Final Report"; Boeing, General

Dynamics, Lockheed, Martin Marietta, McDonnell Douglas and Rockwell; May 1994;

sponsored by NASA's Langley Research Center; see especially Sections 3.5.6 "Space

Tourism".

5. "The Commercial Space Transportation Study", Final Report, by (the then companies

of) Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed, Martin Marietta, McDonnell Douglas and

Rockwell; May 1994; especially "space tourism", pages 198-229.

6. "Space Tourism: The Perspectives from Japan and Some Implications for the United

States", Thomas F. Rogers, The Journal of Practical Applications in Space , Volume

VI, Issue No. 2; Winter, 1995; pages 109-149.

7. "Demand for Space Tourism in America and Japan, and Its Implications for Future

Space Activities: 1996"; P. Collins, R. Stockmans and M. Maita; Advances in 

 Astronautical Sciences , Vol. 91; pages 601-610; 1995.

8. Papers from the International Symposium on Space Tourism, Bremen, Germany;

March 20-22, 1997.

9. "Advanced Technology for Human Support in Space," the National Research Council,

 National Academy Press , Washington, D.C.; July, 1997.

10. “Living in Space: A Handbook for Work and Exploration Beyond the Earth’s

Atmosphere”, G. Harry Stine; M. Evans and Co., Inc ., New York; October, 1997.

11. "Studies Claim Space Tourism Possible"; Aviation Week and Space Technology ; April

7, 1997; page 58.

12. "USAF Set to Fly 'Mini-Spaceplane'"; Aviation Week and Space Technology ; August

4, 1997; pages 20-21.

13. "Highly Reusable Space Transportation: Strategies that May Enable $200/kg

Transportation to Earth Orbit"; John C. Mankins; Paper S7088, August, 1997; NASA

Headquarters; Washington, D.C.

14. "Requirements and Design for Space Tourist Transportation", Jay P. Penn and Charles

A. Lindley; the Aerospace Corporation, 2350 E. El Segundo Blvd., El Segundo,

California 90245-4691; unpublished.
23

15. "Ambitious Entrepreneurs Planning to Send Tourists Into 'Astronaut Altitude'"; The 

 New York Times ; February 17, 1998; Page A-16.

16. "Evolution of the Modern Cruise Trade and Its Application to Space Tourism",

Robert L. Haltermann, November 30, 1996; unpublished, available on STA Website.

Also see:

a) The Japanese space tourism Internet Web site: http:// www.spacefuture.com 

b) The STA space tourism Internet Web site: http:// www.spacetransportation.org 
24

APPENDIX A

TOURISM SURVEY RESULTS

Yesiawich, Pepperdine and Brown of Florida, along with Yankelovich Partners of Connecticut,

completed a 1,500 family focus inquiry in 1997 regarding the interest of the U.S. public in taking

a trip to space.

The results of this study apply to the 130,000,000 million of “...all U.S. consumers who took

one or more pleasure trips of 75 miles or more in 1996 that required overnight accommodations.

Accordingly, the percentage of potential Shuttle travelers and potential cruise [-like space] vessel

travelers can be applied to this base for purposes of estimating the [space tourism] market

potential .”

Dennis A. Marzella, Senior Vice President, Research and Strategic Marketing of Yesiawich,

Pepperdine and Brown, was kind enough to review the study data in some detail so as to produce

the values given in the following table.

Question Percentage (%)

Would you be interested in taking a two-week

vacation in the Space Shuttle in the future? 33.9

If yes, what would you be willing to pay per

person for

such an experience?

Percentage (%)

Less than $500 11.7

$500 - $1,999 22.5

$2,000 - $4,999 26.7

$5,000 - $9,999 22.5

$10,000 - $24,999 9.1

$25,000 - $49,999 < 1

$50,000 - $99,999 < 1

$100,000 or more 7.5

Mean $10,812

Question Percentage (%)

Thinking ahead about the likely advances in space travel within the

next decade, would you be interested in travel in a space cruise vessel

capable of taking passengers into space which would offer similar

accommodations and entertainment programs of an ocean going cruise ship?

42.2
25

APPENDIX B

STUDY LEADERS

 NASA 

Ivan Bekey*

John Mankins

Daniel O'Neil

William Piland

Barbara Stone**

 STA 

Thomas Rogers

Eric W. Stallmer

 Associated with the Study 

David Gump

Robert Haltermann

 STA Administrative Support 

Bernice Coakley

Ann Pryor Spitsbergen

____________________________

* Since January, 1997, as a private consultant.

** Since November, 1996, as a private consultant.
26
27

APPENDIX C

STEERING GROUP MEMBERS

Dr. Buzz Aldrin

Astronaut -- one of the first to stand on the Moon; Chairman of the Board of Directors,

National Space Society; author

Ben Bova

Author of many futuristic novels -- a recent one of which speaks to space tourism -- and

non-fictional books regarding space; former Editor of Analog and Omni magazines

Robert Citron

Co-founder of Kistler Aerospace; founder of SPACEHAB, Inc.; managed space research

projects for the Smithsonian Institution under contract to NASA; early “space tourism”

entrepreneur

Dr. Suzanne D. Cook

Senior Vice President of Research of the Travel Industry Association of America.

Dr. Patricia S. Cowings

Head, Psychophysiological Research Laboratory, NASA Ames Research Center; principal

investigator on several Shuttle missions

Duane Edelman

Manager of Future Projects, Northwest Airlines

Donald Fuqua

President of the Aerospace Industries Association of America, Inc. (AIA); former

Congressman; former Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Science Committee

Jake Garn

Former Senator with NASA program oversight responsibilities; one of the very few nontechnical people to take a Shuttle trip

Lori Garver

Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Policy and Plans, NASA Headquarters; Formerly, Special

Assistant for Communications to the NASA Administrator; former Executive Director, the

National Space Society; Member of the NASA Advisory Council

Frederick H. Hauck

President and CEO, AXA; former multi-space trip astronaut

Professor Donald E. Hawkins

Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of Tourism Policy, The George Washington University;

Director, International Institute of Tourism Studies, School of Business and Public

Management

Neil Hosenball, Esq.

Former General Counsel, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
28

Dr. Max Hunter

President of Space Guild; aerospace engineer; leading proponent of the Single-Stage-toOrbit (SSTO) fully reusable space transportation vehicle concept

Dr. John M. Logsdon

Professor at George Washington University; Director of the GWU Space Policy Institute;

author; U.S.A. Editor of the professional journal Space Policy 

Michael McCullough

Senior Chairman, Booz-Allen-Hamilton

Dr. John McLucas

Former FAA Administrator, Air Force Secretary and Head of the NASA Advisory Council;

author of “Space Commerce”

G. Harry Stine (Deceased, 1997)

Author; long-term professional protagonist for space tourism and lower cost space

transportation

David Vankeelsbeek

Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing, ITT Sheraton

Thomas W. Watts

Formerly Co-Head of the Space Finance group, Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc., a major Wall

Street Investment Banking firm; now with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith, New

York City

Dr. Laurence R. Young

Space scientist/engineer; Apollo program Professor of Astronautics and Director of the

National Space Biomedical Research Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology;

member of the National Research Council’s Aeronautics and Astronautics Board and

Committee on Space Station

 Ex Officio 

General Daniel O. Graham (Deceased, 1995)

U.S. Army (Ret.)

Dr. John E. Mansfield

Formerly NASA Associate Administrator for Space Access and Technology

Tidal W. McCoy

STA Chairman; Vice President of Government Affairs, Thiokol

Keith Calhoun-Senghor

Director, Office of Air and Space Commercialization, Department of Commerce

Frank C. Weaver

Formerly Associate Administrator, Commercial Space Transportation, Department of

Transportation
29

APPENDIX D

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS

Buzz Aldrin (Starcraft Enterprises )

Robert Armstrong (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center)

Victoria Beckner (LunaCorp, Inc.)

Ivan Bekey (BDI; Initial NASA Study Lead)

Collette Bevis (X Prize Foundation)

William Blerbauer (Lawyer)

Gloria Bohan (Omega World Travel)

Steve Brody (NASA OSS/Mission From Planet Earth Office)

Keith Calhoun-Senghor (DOC/Office of Air & Space Commercialization)

Robert A. Citron (Kistler Aerospace)

Kelvin B. Coleman (DOT/FAA/Office of Comm. Space Transportation)

Ed Cooper (Omega World Travel)

Peter H. Diamandis (X Prize Foundation)

Marcus Dinsmore (Omega World Travel)

Norman Fast (F.B. Partners/Incredible Adventures)

Stephen Fogleman (NASA OLMSA; General Participant)

Jerry Grey (AIAA)

David Gump (LunaCorp, Inc.)

Robert L. Haltermann (Haltermann & Associates)

Rick Hauck (AXA Space)

Professor Donald E. Hawkins (George Washington University)

Patt Hill (Omega World Travel)

Joe Howell (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center)

Walter Kistler (Kistler Aerospace)

Sandra Morey Kreer (Travel Network)

Chuck Larsen (DOT/FAA/AST)

Charles J. Lauer (Orbital Properties, LLC)

John C. Mankins (NASA Study Lead)

Gregg Maryniak (X-Prize Foundation)

Neville Marzwell (California Institute of Technology)

Wallace McClure (Boeing North American)

Tidal W. McCoy (Thiokol)

James Muncy (House of Representatives Staff)
30

Dan O'Neil (NASA Study Organizer)

Scott Pace (RAND/Critical Technologies Institute)

Michael R. Paneri (Wimberly, Allison, Tong and Goo)

William M. Piland (NASA Langley Research Center)

Gene Pinder (US Space & Rocket Center)

Carl S. Rappaport (DOT/Office of Commercial Space Transportation)

Tom Rogers (STA Study Lead)

Larry Rowell (NASA Langley Research Center)

T.C. Schwartz (T.C.S. Expeditions)

Charles Scottoline (Boeing North American (ret.); General Participant)

David Smitherman (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center)

Eric W. Stallmer (STA Study Organizer)

Thomas C. Taylor (Global Outpost, Inc.)

Harvey Willenberg (Boeing Defense and Space Group)

Lawrence R. Young (MIT)

John Spencer (Design Finance International)

Harvey Wichman (Claremont McKenna College)

Howard Wolff (Wimberly, Allison, Tong and Goo)

Gordon Woodcock (Consultant)

Dr. Molly Brennan (CCI; Workshop Organizer)

Jack Pozza (CCI; Workshop Organizer)
31

APPENDIX E

SPACE ACT AGREEMENT

The " Space Act Agreement" between NASA and STA under which the study was

conducted.

NONREIMBURSABLE SPACE ACT AGREEMENT

BETWEEN

THE SPACE TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION

AND

THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

TO CONDUCT A STUDY OF SPACE TOURISM

ESTABLISHING A U.S. SPACE TOURISM BUSINESS
32

1. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The Space Transportation Association (STA) is initiating a study addressing the creation of

a large U.S. space tourism business. The concept of space tourism as a business has been

advanced often, especially over the last decade. Within the past two years, two national

studies ("What the United States Must Do To Realize The Economic Promise Of Space"

conducted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the "Commercial

Space Transportation Study" conducted by an alliance of six major U.S. aerospace

companies with partial funding by NASA) suggested that space tourism should be given

serious attention. Internationally, a professional market study completed in Japan last year

convinced knowledgeable space professionals and commercial interests there that a space

tourism business grossing over $ 1 0 billion annually could be created.

NASA has an X-33 space transportation development and demonstration program

underway that should point the way to greatly increased space transportation safety and

reliability, and sharply reduced unit cost, for passenger traffic. Since any U.S. next

generation (post-Shuttle) space transportation vehicle fleet must be privately funded, it must

be designed to serve commercial as well as government markets. The commercial markets

must be large enough to make investment profitable; space tourism is potentially the earliest

and largest of these markets.

STA is requesting NASA's assistance in the Study in technology areas for which NASA

has unique experience, including human space flight and the physiology of living and

working in space. In the study, STA will address the question of what specifically needs

to be considered and done by the private sector to hasten the development of a large space

tourism business and NASA will assess the technological or other limitations that must be

reduced or removed that call for R&D activities.

2. AUTHORITY

This agreement is entered into by the Space Transportation Association (herein referred to

as "STA") with place of business at 2800 Shirlington Road, Suite 405, Arlington, Virginia

22206, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Headquarters located in

Washington, DC ("NASA"). The legal authority for NASA to enter into this

Agreement is found in the Space Act of 1958 § 203 (c) (5) and (6); 42 U.S.C. § 2473 (c),

as implemented by NASA Management Instruction 1050.9A.

3. RESPONSIBILITIES

The Study will be co-directed by Mr. Thomas F. Rogers of STA and Mr. Ivan Bekey of

NASA. A few additional people from each organization will be assigned to the Study. Lt.

Gen. Daniel 0. Graham, USA (Ret.), Brig. Gen. Robert C. Richardson 111, USA (Ret.),

and Mr. Steve McCormick of STA will participate, as will Mr. Michael Marks, a consultant

to STA. STA Board Members and membership organizations will also be called upon.

STA will also endeavor to have two graduate students work on the Study; one with a

background in space policy and the other in travel and tourism. At NASA, Dr. Barbara A.

Stone (Headquarters), Dr. William Piland (Langley Research Center) and Mr. Steve Creech

(Marshall Space Flight Center) will participate. NASA will also enlist the cooperation of

appropriate individuals in other Federal organizations.
33

A Steering Group composed of approximately 10 members and co-chaired by the two codirectors will be formed by STA to provide Study oversight. Steering Group membership

will include the Study Co-directors, an astronaut, an aerospace industry executive, a space

transportation vehicle design professional, a commercial airline executive, a financial

authority, and a travel and tourism expert. Lt.Gen. Daniel 0. Graham, USA (Ret.)

(Chairman, STA), Brig. Gen. Robert C. Richardson 111, USA (Ret.) (an STA Director),

Mr. Daniel S. Goldin (NASA Administrator) and Dr. John E. Mansfield (NASA Associate

Administrator for Space Access and Technology) will be invited to be ex officio members

of the Steering Committee.

STA will also form a larger Working Group with members representing diverse technical,

business and legal expertise. Members of the Working Group will prepare, review, and

provide comments on draft papers which address their specific professional or business

areas.

The Study will conclude with a written report prepared under the direction of the CoDirectors. The Report will be in two parts. The first part will be a relatively short

subreport written so as to be readily understandable by the interested general public. This

sub-report will outline the steps required to bring about a space tourism business as soon as

possible. The second part of the Report will contain the separate papers that address

specific professional, business and government issues relating to the development of a

space tourism business.

A joint STA-NASA press conference will be held to announce the findings of the Study

and to make the report available to the general public and professional and business media.

The Study is expected to take 9 months. If agreement is reached to extend the Study, a

progress report briefing will be offered to the X-33 program, government, and extragovernment participant organizations at the end of 9 months.

A. STA Responsibilities

• STA will prepare draft papers addressing space tourism business issues such as

insurance, advertising, market studies, financial estimates, associated surface activities,

in-orbit hotels and facilities, merchandising, vehicle characteristics, launch/recovery

physical environment, passenger surface transportation, initial operational date

estimation, international activities, federal policies, regulations, laws, international

agreements, and other issues as agreed upon by NASA and STA. All Study

information gathered or prepared by STA will be made available to NASA.

• STA will prepare the general public sub-report.

• STA will form the Steering and Working Groups.

• STA will endeavor to employ one or two graduate students.

 B. NASA Responsibilities

• NASA will prepare draft papers addressing issues such as human space flight and the

physiology of living and working in space, technology requirements, vehicle

certification, space sickness, passenger physical acceptability, and other issues as

agreed upon by NASA and STA. All study information gathered or prepared by NASA

will be made available to STA.

• Printing and distribution of 1000 copies of the final report will be done through NASA,

either in-house or by the Government Printing Office.
34

• NASA will lead in communicating with appropriate offices in the Executive Branch.

NASA has the primary responsibility for keeping government interests informed of the

conduct of the Study.

 C. Joint Responsibilities

• Prepare the final Study Report.

• Prepare material for Government, space industry, and tourism business briefings.

• Communicate, as appropriate, with space industry, airline, tourism, and other business

organizations.

• Communicate with the Legislative Branch.

• Prepare the final Study Report distribution list.

• Conduct press briefings.

4. FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS

There will be no transfer of funds or other financial obligation between NASA and STA in

connection with this Agreement. Each Party will fund its own participation under this

Agreement.

5. OFFICIALS NOT TO BENEFIT

No member of or delegate to Congress, or resident commissioner, shall be admitted to any

share or part of this Agreement, or to any benefit arising from it. However, this clause

does not apply to this Agreement to the extent that this Agreement is made with a

corporation for the corporation's general benefit.

6. FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS

All activities under or pursuant to this Agreement are subject to the availability of

appropriated funds, and no provision of this Agreement shall be interpreted to require

obligation or payment of funds in violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. Section

1341.

7. SCHEDULE AND MILESTONES

The scheduled major milestones for the Study are contained in Attachment 1.

8. PRIORITY OF USE

The schedules and milestones are estimated based on the Parties' current understanding of

their circumstances. In the event that either Party's circumstances change, the other Party

shall be given reasonable notice of that change so that the schedules and milestones can be

adjusted accordingly.

9. LIABILITY AND RISK OF LOSS

There is to be no use by either Party of any equipment or facilities, beyond that of meeting

places, of the other Party. Therefore, neither Party expects to incur any significant liability

or risk of loss,
35

10. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as granting or implying any rights to, or

interest in, patents or inventions of the Parties or their contractors or subcontractors. Each

Party is obligated to transfer to the other Party only the technical data necessary to fulfill the

responsibilities of the transferring Party under this agreement. It is the intent of the Parties

to effect such transfer without restrictions as to use or disclosure, subject to the following:

1. In the event a Party finds it necessary to transfer technical data in carrying out its

responsibilities under this agreement that are proprietary, and for which protection is to

be maintained, such technical data will be marked with a notice indicating that it shall be

used and disclosed by the receiving Party and its contractors and subcontractors only

for the purposes of fulfilling the receiving Party's responsibilities under this agreement,

and that the technical data shall not be disclosed or retransfered to any other entity

without prior written permission of the furnishing Party. The receiving Party agrees to

abide by the terms of the notice, and to protect any such marked technical data from

unauthorized use and disclosure.

2. The Parties are under no obligation to protect any unmarked technical data.

In the event reports or publications prepared in the performance of this agreement are

copyrighted, the Parties shall have a royalty-free right to reproduce, use, and distribute the

work for their purposes.

11. INDEPENDENCE OF CONTRACTS

There are no contracts between NASA and STA.

12. ASSIGNMENT OF RIGHTS

Neither this Agreement nor any interest arising under it will be assigned by STA or

NASA without the express written consent of the officials executing the Agreement.

13. TERM OF AGREEMENT AND RIGHT TO TERMINATE

The term of this Agreement shall extend for 9 months from the last signature date below.

Either Party may unilaterally and without liability terminate the Agreement prior to the

expiration date, by providing a 30-day written notice to the other Party. In the event of

such termination, each Party shall return to the other any data it furnished to assist the other

Party in performance of this Agreement, but each Party may retain any data generated by its

partial performance under the Agreement. The signatories or their designees may amend

this Agreement at any time, but only by mutual agreement in writing.

14. KEY PERSONNEL

The following personnel are designated as the key officials for their respective Party.

These key officials are the principal points of contact between the Parties in the

performance of this Agreement.

 STA NASA 

Mr. Thomas F. Rogers Mr. Ivan Bekey

President Senior Executive for Advanced Concepts

Space Transportation Association Office of Space Access and Technology
36

Suite 405 Code XZ

2800 Shirlington Road NASA Headquarters

Arlington, VA 22206 Washington, DC 20546-0001

Telephone 703-671-4116 Telephone 202-358-4561

15. PUBLIC INFORMATION

Release of general information to the public regarding this study may be made by the

appropriate Party for its own portion of the program as desired and, insofar as participation

of the other is involved, after suitable consultation.

16. APPLICABLE LAW

The Parties hereby designate the United States Federal Law to govern this Agreement for

all purposes, including but not limited to, determining the validity of the Agreement, the

meaning of its provisions, and the rights, obligations, and remedies of the Parties.

17. EXECUTION

THE SPACE TRANSPORTATION

ASSOCIATION

_________________________________

Lt. Gen. Daniel 0. Graham, USA (Ret.)

Chairman of the Board

Date_____________________________

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

_________________________________

Dr. John E. Mansfield

Associate Administrator for Space Access

and Technology

Date_____________________________