Space tourism? Really? I've been loosely following the Virgin Galactic project for a quite a while. I'm all for exploring the final frontier and going where no one has gone before. As tantalizing as it sounds though, I believe it is destined for failure. Don't get me wrong here. I can only imagine how fascinating it would be to see the limitless depths of space. To be able to see the Earth from a perspective shared by only a handful of people would be a chance of a lifetime. Star Trek Trekkies around the world will jump for joy when it launches.
But as cool as it sounds, I don't exactly have $200,000 burning a hole in my pocket. I doubt the Trekkies can afford that kind of luxury either. This eliminates the average joe from even considering such a wondrous voyage. Although I'm sure there will be plenty of wealthy folk beating down Mr. Branson's door and begging to don an astronaut helmet, I foresee the pool of potential customers drying up quickly. I believe this is going to end up as merely a brief fad for the well-to-do. Even with the rich and famous, fads have their highs. But they invariably disappear faster than they appeared.
This will leave a lot of empty seats on the spaceship, and a sizable deficit in Virgin's wallet. The only option I can think of is to create a reason for repeat business. I've even done Virgin a favor and came up with the solution: they can offer up visits to the newest chic salons and exclusive clothing stores on the International Space Station. Paris Hilton may end up on board every flight. What celeb wouldn't want a designer handbag from the moon?
This is all assuming that Virgin's plan is to make it a solid profitable venture, as opposed to the personal hobby of a bored billionaire. Nothing against Mr. Branson, but even his money (and attention span) have to run out at some point. The cost of maintaining a commercial spaceship is beyond my scope of knowledge, but my common sense tells me that when the cost is that high, it's not simply a matter of lowering the price to sell more seats. Unless rocket ship engineering and architecture come way down in price....this is doomed to fail.
What saddens me most is that the millions of dollars being spent here could be put to much better use down here on Earth. Space tourism seems a low priority on the list of planetary achievements we should be focusing on. Let's cure cancer and AIDs before we decide to go gallivanting around the solar system.