All About ISRO’s Space Tourism

All About ISRO’s Space Tourism.

Pay a hefty amount of money, and you could travel through space. Yes, you read it right. ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization), the national space agency of India, has plans to develop a special spacecraft that can carry civilians to outer space and back. A few months back, the Union Minister, Jitendra Singh, said that to build capacities for space, the ISRO is testing human flight capability in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) is also aiming to encourage the involvement of private players in full-scale space operations, including space tourism.

What is IN-Space?

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) is a single-window independent organisation that reports to the Indian government's Department of Space. The Center oversees and facilitates space operations in India. To determine "how effectively to utilize India's space resources and increase space-based activity," IN-SPACe will serve as a liaison between ISRO and private sector businesses.

In collaboration with ISRO, the center will assess the expectations of private sector businesses, including educational institutions, and work to tailor those requests. Sivan stated that both ISRO and private sector organizations would be bound by the center’s choices. ISRO used to govern the space industry, but it will now concentrate on its primary function of research and development.

India and Global Space Tourism

In the last several years, the space tourism industry has exploded, dominated by private aerospace businesses. SpaceX, which billionaire Elon Musk established, is the market leader in space tourism thanks to its Dragon space capsule, which offers tourist journeys in zero gravity. The New Shepard spaceship from Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, which launches from West Texas carrying passengers on short joyrides to space, is another major competitor in the industry. The flights, which last close to ten minutes, provide the guests with a glimpse of the Earth from above.

What is India Doing?

Space tourism in India is years overdue, and the first Gaganyaan manned mission, primarily a scientific mission to demonstrate an indigenous capability to undertake human space flight mission, has not yet been launched. The human mission is anticipated to launch between 2024 and 2025 if all test missions are successful. 

For now, space tourism is a dream, which in order to become a reality, ISRO has to ensure certain things first- the perfect completion of the Gaganyaan programme, many iterations of the same, the development and successful launches of a reusable rocket intended for tourist transportation, and the assurance that all systems are dependable and affordable to be financially viable. It is predicted that Indian space tourism will be viable around 2028. We will have to wait and see what happens till then.