Context:
Recently, Gopi Thotakura, an India-born commercial pilot based in the US, became the first space tourist from India. She, along with five other space tourists, made a short recreational trip to space.
Relevance:
GS III: Space
Dimensions of the Article:
- Space Tourism
- Karman Line
Space Tourism
Definition:
- A sector of the aviation industry offering tourists the chance to experience space travel for leisure, recreation, or business.
Market Growth:
- Valued at $848.28 million in 2023.
- Expected to reach $27,861.99 million by 2032.
Types of Space Tourism:
- Sub-orbital spaceflight:
- Takes passengers just beyond the Kármán line (100 km above sea level).
- Offers a few minutes in outer space before returning to Earth.
- Example: Blue Origin’s New Shepherd mission.
- Orbital spaceflight:
- Takes passengers to an altitude of nearly 1.3 million feet.
- Passengers can spend from a few days to over a week in space.
- Example: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 mission in September 2021 took four passengers to an altitude of 160 km for three days in orbit.
Challenges:
- Cost:
- Typically, a passenger must pay at least a million dollars for the trip.
- Environmental Concerns:
- Rockets emit gaseous and solid chemicals into the upper atmosphere.
- A 2022 study by UCL, University of Cambridge, and MIT found rocket soot emissions significantly warm the atmosphere.
- Safety:
- As of 2023, 676 people have flown into space with 19 fatalities, resulting in an approximate 3% fatality rate.
Karman Line
Definition:
- An imaginary boundary that marks the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space, situated at 100 km (62 miles) above sea level.
Origin:
- Named after aerospace pioneer Theodore von Kármán.
- Established by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) in the 1960s.
Significance:
- An aircraft or spacecraft crossing the Karman line is classified as a spaceflight.
- Individuals crossing this line are officially recognized as astronauts.
Characteristics:
- Aerodynamics vs Orbital Mechanics:
- Below the Kármán line, flight is dominated by aerodynamic principles.
- Above the line, orbital mechanics become more crucial.
- Atmospheric Conditions:
- At the Karman line, the atmosphere is extremely thin.
- Traditional aircraft relying on wings for lift struggle to function effectively due to the thin atmosphere.
- Spacecraft above the Karman line require their own propulsion systems to maintain trajectory and counteract the minimal atmospheric drag.
-Source: Indian Express
