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Study Shows Large Space Tourism Market

Posted by timothy on from the las-vegas-effect dept.

HobbySpacer writes: "A serious market study has finally been done on space tourism and it shows a substantial market, even for brief sub-orbital flights. The Futron/Zogby study of high income individuals found that 19% would pay $100k for a sub-orbital flight. Furthermore, 7% would pay $20M to go to the Space Station (if they had the money.) The percentages go up if the prices could come down, especially with availability of private orbital facilities. With around 30 million high-net-worth households ($500,000+) in the US, this indicates a market of several million for suborbital on the short term and eventually for orbital. We can hope that like previous expensive luxuries, e.g. jet travel and ocean cruises, the wealthy will pull the prices down to a level reachable by the rest of us."

5 of 189 comments (clear)

  1. The X-Prize - Cheap Access To Space by cybrpnk2 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Getting to space in the first place is the key to space tourism. That's where the X-Prize comes in...

    1. Re:The X-Prize - Cheap Access To Space by Gorobei · · Score: 3, Informative

      According to the current price on Ideosphere, the X-prize will be won around Feb 2005. See the XPRIZE claim for the full bidding history.

      I personally think Feb 2005 is way optimistic, especially given the reusability requirement: the same craft must fly twice in a 14-day period. A private effort to get a single manned launch is tough enough -- 14 days to test, re-prep, and relaunch? Even NASA would have a tough time.

    2. Re:The X-Prize - Cheap Access To Space by Gorobei · · Score: 2, Informative

      Sorry, blew that first link -- it's Ideosphere

  2. Re:completely flawed by Triskaidekaphobia · · Score: 2, Informative

    The numbers excluded houses. $500K means $500K of investable cash. Or wastable cash if spent on 10 minutes in a fancy plane.

  3. Re:If only I had the money... by CharlezManning · · Score: 2, Informative
    I'd feed the starving billions, I'd travel the world, ......

    Talk is cheap. If people really had the money I bet far fewer would actually follow through with the doallars.