March 30 is the date for the first mission from Axiom Space, carrying
four private astronauts on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to the
International Space Station in low earth orbit.
One of the four men participating in the 10-day mission on Ax-1 is
Mark Pathy, a Canadian businessman and philanthropist, who, along with
the three others, will spend about eight days living onboard the ISS
conducting research.
While it is far from a typical “travel experience,” Pathy’s path to
participate in the mission does have a familiar spin: He was connected
to the experience by a travel agent.
Selling space to the affluent market
Axiom Space NASA-level training prepares the average traveller to ascend into space and live out their fantasies as an astronaut. Photo Credit: Axiom Space
Roman Chiporukha is co-founder and CEO of Roman & Erica, a
lifestyle and travel firm that combines the services of a concierge,
luxury travel advisor and personal assistant. Chiporukha says Axiom
Space contacted him in 2018, knowing he works with high-net-worth
clients, to ask for assistance in selling the final seat on the upcoming
mission.
In November 2020 Chiporukha says he helped to introduce Axiom Space
to Pathy, who then paid US$55 million to become an Ax-1 astronaut and
conduct research onboard.
That experience gave Chiporukha the idea to create a specialised
travel consultancy to focus on the burgeoning niche of space tourism.
In January 2021, he launched Space VIP, which now lists a variety of
space travel experiences around the world including Axiom Space’s future
missions as well as trips being planned by companies including Blue
Origin, Virgin Galactic, World View and Space Perspective.
“We conceptualised this notion of having one place to go online that
would give you very basic details of everything going on with any one of
these companies. We aggregated and synthesised all of this data across
all of these operators and put it in one place,” he says.
For now, Chiporukha’s role is as an advisor to interested travellers
and a conduit to the companies offering the experiences. Bookings are
done directly with the provider, with Chiporukha getting a commission
from the operators that he would only describe as “well compensated.”
He says as more of these trips take flight – whether it’s the US$55
million experience to go about 450km up to the ISS from Axiom Space or
the more modest trips about 32km into space from World View (US$50,000)
and Space Perspective (US$125,000) – he expects interest in experiencing
space travel will grow.
“When I started, I had some clients think it was funny. Now people
are asking real questions like, ‘Do I need to go through training? Can I
buy insurance?’” he says.
“I think it appeals to the type of person that is already adventurous
by nature. These clients, they are the one that go to Bhutan and hike
or journey to the top seven peaks around the world. Space is the next
frontier.”
The reward is worth the risk
World View will start taking travellers on five-day journeys to space beginning in 2024. Photo Credit: World View
Jay Johnson, an advisor with Coastline Travel Advisors in California,
is also optimistic about the future of space tourism. Johnson got
involved more than a decade ago when he became one of the first of
Virgin Galactic’s “accredited space agents.”
Johnson says he received training from Virgin Galactic and then began
selling the company’s space travel experience through his website and
by hosting informational events.
He says he sold eight trips, but those trips – and those clients –
have been on hold since the 2014 crash of a Virgin Galactic test vehicle
that killed one of the pilots.
Despite that setback, Johnson says he continues to receive inquiries
about space tourism, and he says he is “actively selling” trips offered
by Space Perspective and talking to other suppliers.
“The people who’ve come to us know a ton about it because they are so
fascinated by it,” he says. “They tend to be bright, successful people
that do a lot of research on their own.”
Johnson says Virgin Galactic recently discontinued the accredited space agent programme.
As of February 16, the company says it has opened ticket sales to the
public on its website for future trips. The 90-minute experience costs
US$450,000, with an initial deposit of US$150,000 and the final payment
made before the flight, with the first trip on schedule for Q4 of this
year.
“At Virgin Galactic, we believe that space is transformational,” says
Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier. “We plan to have our first
1,000 customers on board at the start of commercial service later this
year, providing an incredibly strong foundation as we begin regular
operations and scale our fleet.”
Creating the experience
Space Perspective launches guests into the stratosphere for six hours in a high-performance balloon and pressurised capsule featuring a refreshment bar and reclining seats. Photo Credit: Space Perspective
Virgin Galactic astronauts will launch from Spaceport America in New
Mexico and will stay at “forthcoming custom accommodations” several days
before their flight to enjoy “bespoke itineraries and world-class
amenities during astronaut-specific training programs.”
Compared to Virgin Galactic, which will take passengers high above
the Earth's atmosphere in a rocket-boosted spaceship, World View and
Florida-based Space Perspective will take customers about 100,000 feet
up inside climate-controlled, pressurised capsules with high-end seats
and large windows and amenities including bathrooms and refreshments.
Both capsules will be lifted by massive balloons, with World View’s
using helium and Space Perspective’s using hydrogen.
World View is also building custom accommodations at its spaceports,
starting with its location near the Grand Canyon and then expanding to
the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, followed by locations in Kenya,
Norway, Brazil, Egypt and Mongolia.
The company recently hired Dale Hipsh as president of tourism and
exploration. Most recently senior vice president of hotels at Hard Rock
International, Hipsh is a veteran hospitality executive who has worked
at properties around the world and is now in charge of developing World
View’s facilities and guest experience both on the ground and in its
eight-passenger space capsule.
Hipsh says his vision for the Grand Canyon spaceport is a luxury
lodge with about 40 rooms and high-end food, entertainment and wellness
experiences.
For the US$50,000 fee, participants will stay at the lodge for five
days, with the six-hour trip to the stratosphere and back taking place
some time during that period, depending on weather conditions.
World View is intending to have about 110 flying days per year – with
several balloon flights each day – and in the offseason the spaceport
lodge will be a luxury resort open to anyone.
Hipsh would not share specific data but says “sales are going well
and exceeding expectations” since the company began selling the
experience in October for trips beginning in 2024. And he says the
company is considering partnering with travel intermediaries and
advisors who can offer the World View experience to their customers.
Meanwhile, Space Perspective founder, co-CEO and chief experience
officer Jane Poynter says it also expects to begin commercial flights in
2024 and all seats for that year and most for 2025 – about 500 total to
date - are already reserved with a deposit beginning at US$1,000 and
full cost at US$125,000.
The trips will last about six hours from launch to landing with eight passengers and a pilot onboard.
“We are incredibly excited about the response. It speaks to the
incredible pent-up demand there is for this, for space travel writ large
but also for a super safe and responsible way to go to space,” she
says.
Poynter says about 80% of Space Perspective customers are from the
United States and most are booking the experience direct, although the
company also works with travel sellers such as Chiporukha’s Space VIP
and Exclusive Resorts, which has three private charters reserved for its
members starting in 2025.
“Space is a new destination,” Poynter says. “And travel changes us -
it transforms people’s lives. The data shows that astronauts that go to
space... there is a statistically significant increase in their
involvement in environmental and humanitarian causes.”
Hipsh echoes that sentiment. “From our point of view, our goal is to
democratise space travel and to help transform anyone we take up into
space to make them come down and be better citizens and better
custodians of the earth,” he says.
“We really feel the experience we’re going to be offering is a really
great way to help march toward the healing of the earth... and we
welcome the competitors in the space. We see it as an unlimited
opportunity.”
Source: PhocusWire