posted 09-06-2007 03:19 AM               

Recent surveys have provided new and updated information into public insights of the nascent space tourism industry. Erik Seedhouse uniquely explores in detail the cutting-edge technologies, spacecraft capabilities, launch vehicles and the training that will define this commercial enterprise and also provides a manual for future suborbital and orbital private space explorers. This overview of the space tourism market is based upon choices the spaceflight participant must make, such as choice of agency, mode and spaceport. A detailed explanation is given of the medical requirements for spaceflight participants, with special reference to potential waiver criteria. Over half of the book is a comprehensive astronaut training/instructional manual that addresses each of the 15 subjects required for suborbital and orbital flight. A DVD with instructional lectures in the form of powerpoint slides might be included.

Following an Introduction examining the commercial potential for space tourism, Section 1 covers Suborbital Flight. Chapter 1 opens with a description and analysis of the significance of SpaceShipOne. Chapter 2 gives the Suborbital frontrunner profiles, mission architectures and technical aspects from launch to landing while the following chapter details the training and medical requirements for space tourists. Section 2 covers the same aspects for Orbital Flight, including a civilian astronaut training manual, enabling technologies, capabilities and personnel. A description is given of the anticipated on-orbit phases that will introduce the potential spaceflight participant or reader to the capsule, rendezvous, medical support, mission events and de-orbit phase. Section 3 gives a detailed assessment of the future of space tourism based on current technologies, commercial applications, military use and Lunar and Mars missions. Countries without space programs are also included.

Erik Seedhouse provides a much needed, well-rounded understanding of what promises to be the most dynamic, multi-faceted and exciting industry in the world. He shows how seemingly innocuous players are disproving long held beliefs about what can be achieved in space despite the inherent complexities, and why this industry may soon define the new norm in space travel.

• Paperback: 256 pages
  
• Publisher: Springer-Praxis; 1 edition (December 2007)
  
• Language: English
  
• ISBN-10: 0387746439
  
• ISBN-13: 978-0387746432

posted 01-20-2014 10:22 AM               

• Updates the first edition with the new players in the field, comprehensive medical information about spaceflight health requirements and a thorough explanation of the current drivers of the new space frontier

• Addresses potential space tourists who may be contemplating spaceflight in the near future now that the market has advanced

• Describes the specifications of current vehicles in development and how the space tourism market will evolve in the next 5, 10 and 25 years

• Describes the generic academic and practical training modules required by suborbital, orbital and lunar tourists

• Explains the physiological consequences of suborbital and orbital flight for space tourists

• Describes a typical suborbital and orbital space tourism spaceflight experience from start to finish

With commercial spaceflight becoming a reality comes the second edition to the highly acclaimed 'Tourists in Space: A Practical Guide' published in 2005, serving as a handbook, go-to manual and reference guide for suborbital and orbital space tourists and as a guidebook for research institutions and academia seeking to understand the space tourism training process. This will provide spaceflight enthusiasts and candidate space tourists with a unique insight into and understanding of how the spaceflight industry will be revolutionized by space tourist revenue flights.

It includes thorough descriptions of the medical and training requirements for space tourists and the critical roles that support the industry, including commercial space pilots. The book investigates the current demographics of the likely space tourists of the near future and analyzes the medical and training certification this group has been and will be subjected to.

This comprehensive overview also provides an insight into the many companies supporting the nascent commercial space tourism industry, including space training agencies such as NASTAR, Sirius, Innerspace Training, and Suborbital Training, operators such as Virgin Galactic, and equipment manufacturers such as Orbital Outfitters and Final Frontier Design.