Space Tourism

Excerpt form www.SpaceFuture.com:

“Space Tourism is the term that's come to be used to mean ordinary members of the public buying tickets to travel to space and back. Many people find this idea futuristic. But over the past few years a growing volume of professional work has been done on the subject, and it's now clear that setting up commercial space tourism services is a realistic target for business today.

The first steps will just be short sub-orbital flights, like Alan Shepard made in 1961, since these are easier than getting to orbit. But the technical know-how to make passenger launch vehicles and orbiting hotel accommodation is available, and there is enormous unsatisfied demand - market research has revealed that most people, at least in the industrialized countries, would like to take a trip to space if it was possible. This gives huge scope for reducing the cost of space travel by large-scale operation like airlines.

The main obstacle is simply the conservatism of the space industry as it is today. Since Sputnik was launched in 1957 most space activities have been funded by governments.

And this "cold war" pattern of space activities has created an image of space that colors everyone’s' thinking about it - writers, journalists, politicians, scientists and engineers, and the general public. Even science fiction writers assume as obvious that most space activities will always be government activities”

The da Vinci Project has answered the statements above. Our goal is to breakdown the unfounded psychological barriers that exist regarding space travel. A crippling blow to this ideology was inflicted by the success of Spaceship One and will be furthered by the da Vinci Project. What the da Vinci Project offers that Spaceship One did not is a grassroots, everyday person approach to space exploration. Our global volunteer effort is driven by the passion and determination of more than 600 contributors of all ages and all walks of life from across Canada and around the world. Together, we are opening up space to everyone. Our vision starts with our first sub-orbital manned spaceflight missions, and will continue on to orbit and beyond.

Leonardo da Vinci himself represented a multiplicity of disciplines that began the Renaissance. The Renaissance affected all of Europe and the world to this day. As daVinci did, so will the legacy of this Project create a second Renaissance of all mankind expanding beyond the cradle…

Simply: Our existence is the proof of the mass appeal and marketability of space.

Market Research

National Aerospace Laboratory, 1996

North America:

• Over 60% of North Americans are interested in traveling to space for a vacation.
• For people under 40 years of age, over 75% are interested in space travel.
• Almost 90% of males in their twenties are interested in space as a travel destination.

Japan:

• More than 70% of those under 60 years old want to travel to space.
• Over 80% of those under 40 years old stated that they would like to visit space at least once in their lifetime.
• 70% of these said that they were prepared to pay up to three months‘ salary for such a trip.

Europe:

• 47% of Germans would pay three months salary to travel to space.
• The similarity between Europeans and North Americans in terms of space interest is striking.