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Spaceport Lounge lifts off with an engaging infographic in a sleek, travel guidebook style that compares the costs, duration, and activities of current providers SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, Axiom, and Roscosmos.
“Commercial space travel options and passenger volume are expected to expand at a staggering pace from today’s 20 commercial space travelers per year to 40,000 per year by the end of the decade—according to Northern Sky Research—as spaceliners like Virgin Galactic scale to hundreds of flights per year,” said Spaceport Lounge founder Bryan Estep, a former Travelocity and Booking.com executive and travel author.
“Whether or not those numbers are fully achieved, ticket prices should become more affordable as volume grows. Spaceport Lounge is meant to be an engaging, accessible resource for people who desire to learn more about travel to space, like a guidebook combined with a glossy travel magazine.”
The inaugural infographic shows that space voyages start at $450,000 on Virgin Galactic’s 61-minute jaunt, which includes three days of training and about two minutes of time floating in space. Trips at the high end go at $55M for transportation and a 13-day average length of stay at the International Space Station (ISS) provided by Roscosmos or Axiom Space on SpaceX rockets.
For the ISS option, visitor activities go beyond floating in space and absorbing life-changing views of Earth. Training for the ISS and all orbital travel is much more intensive than suborbital trips, usually a minimum of five months. This includes Russian language lessons if traveling with Roscosmos. The Russian space agency was the first organization to provide commercial space voyages as far back as 2001. Visitors to the ISS engage in science experiments, interact with professional astronauts, dine on space-ready meals, and can work out with the treadmill, exercise bike, and strength-conditioning bands.
Bathrooms are always a point of curiosity. On short trips, maximum absorbency garments, also known as space diapers, are issued. Due to capacity constraints, the facilities are basic even on longer voyages such as those to the ISS, where a vacuum toilet with a curtain for privacy is available.
Travel is often enhanced through knowledge of the destination’s history. One objective of the publication is to thoroughly document the genesis of commercial space travel. “Such rich detail about the early adopters of an emerging travel segment is unique,” Estep continued, “Without exception, these spacefarers are extraordinary people. They are pioneers.”
Spaceport Lounge is launching initially as a newsletter and quarterly digital magazine. Expansion into other media will evolve as the space travel market does, positioning Spaceport Lounge as the premier space travel & lifestyle platform. Readers can choose from a free subscription (including Space Travel Basics, free and regularly updated) or paid subscription options at www.spaceportlounge.com.
About Spaceport Lounge:
Spaceport Lounge is a travel & lifestyle publication that provides commercial space travel intel for aspiring tourists, industry travelers, and service providers. The publication is a place for people to contemplate space travel through insightful stories and lively visuals supported by a proprietary database. Spaceport Lounge is owned and created by Outbound Editions LLC, a destination-inspired publishing company.
Bryan Estep
Outbound Editions
[email protected]
