Space planes 'to meet big demand'

[flux_29]

Aerospace giant EADS says it will need a production line of rocket planes to satisfy the space tourism market.

The European company's Astrium division, makers of the Ariane rocket, has plans for a commercial vehicle to take ticketed passengers above 100km.
Its market assessment suggests there would be 15,000 people a year prepared to part with some 200,000 euros (£160,000) for the ride of a lifetime.

"To satisfy the market you will need more planes than you think, because once there is regular operation, the price will decrease which means there will be more customers," Robert Laine, chief technical officer (CTO) of the pan-European company, told BBC News.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7298511.stm

Discuss

 

[Deckerd]

I don't think so. They might get a few fans going for a spin but most people are only interested in going from a to b. Also, there is a lot of pressure for people not to take 'unnecessary' flights and this will increase over time, mainly in the form of taxation.

 

[JustAFriend]

The number of people with enough disposable income to afford $300,000 'one-day vacations' is pretty small....

Opening up an orbital hotel (and building vehicles that can actually achieve orbit) to get people up for a week will help considerably, but the market is still going to be small enough that you could put the entire world's supply in an auditorium.

...And remember that once rich people have gone on a 'unique vacation' to brag to their cocktail party friends, they probably WONT sign up to do it again. It's a very flakey crowd that even the terrestrial travel agents have trouble satisfying....

 

[Argus Skyhawk]

I don't think so. They might get a few fans going for a spin but most people are only interested in going from a to b. Also, there is a lot of pressure for people not to take 'unnecessary' flights and this will increase over time, mainly in the form of taxation.

It said 15 thousand, not 15 million, so of course MOST people will be interested only in going from A to B. But this is SPACE, we are talking about. There is a small but significant percentage of folks willing to pay anything for that once-in-a-lifetime chance to see with their own eyes that the world is round. Never underestimate what people will spend for a thrill.

 

[FordSVT]

Yeah, 15,000 people isn't that many. There are about 8.7 million millionaires in the world. Now, while obviously someone with "merely" $1,000,000 in assets isn't going to spend a fifth of that on a fun space ride, a significant portion of the "richer" millionaires would. Think of all the 5-10,000/night hotels and resorts, quarter million dollar sports cars, multi-million dollar homes and yachts, etc. that are sold every year. There's definitely a significant market for very expensive luxuries. Heck, look here for a small taste (I pick up the catalogue sometimes for kicks):

http://www.dupontregistry.com/

I'd remind people that this is merely the beginning of space tourism. Luxury cruise liners, air planes, and automobiles all grew from a small number of affluent people purchasing a novel luxury into something more accessible to the masses. I've got no doubt that a half century or so from now, orbital and sub-orbital flights will be common place for thousands of people every day, and at a price a heck of a lot less than $200,000. More like the price of a first class air ticket. Who wants to spend 18 hours on a cramped plane getting from New York to Tokyo or Sydney?

 

[B.J.]

This is just another suborbital hop, like the one Spaceship One did, and like Spaceship Two/Virgin Galactic is planning to do. Now if they were making an actual orbital ship, that would be a lot more interesting. Of course, the price would also go up a couple of orders of magnitude.