Can ordinary people go into space and see the universe?

With a deafening roar, the rocket took off, and the spacecraft was brought into the atmosphere, entering the critical orbit 100 to 120 kilometers above the Earth for orbiting, marking the beginning of human exploration of space.

Since Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin first set foot in space in 1961, hundreds of astronauts around the world have accomplished this feat, marking the official entry of mankind into the space age. However, early space exploration had extremely high requirements on the physical fitness and professional skills of the participants. Astronauts had to face various harsh environments such as huge noise, vibration, shock, overweight and weightlessness, and they had to keep their heads clear while working in these harsh environments, which limited space travel to professionals.

So, can ordinary people go into space and see the vast universe?

In recent years, with the significant progress of manned space technology, especially the comprehensive improvement of carriers in terms of carrying capacity, comfort and safety, space travel has gradually shown the possibility of being open to the public, and it is no longer an unattainable dream for ordinary people to start space travel. On October 13, 2024, SpaceX's "Starship" project successfully completed its fifth test launch, which aroused great attention from the outside world to space travel.

Depending on the flight altitude and characteristics, space travel can be roughly divided into three categories: parabolic flight, suborbital flight and orbital flight.

Parabolic flight

Parabolic flight is not a real space travel, but it allows passengers to experience the feeling of weightlessness when they reach the top of the parabola and the period of rapid descent. Parabolic flight means that the spacecraft climbs upwards, and when it reaches an altitude of 20 kilometers or near the top of the parabola, the spacecraft shuts down the engine for a short time, and the passengers in the cabin move along the parabola trajectory with the cabin. At this time, the passengers are in a free fall state for a short time, and can float in the cabin, which feels very similar to weightlessness in space. This method is often used to experience weightlessness during astronaut training.

Suborbital flight

Suborbital generally refers to airspace at an altitude of 20 to 100 kilometers from the ground, especially the von Karman line at an altitude of no more than 100 kilometers, which is the boundary between the atmosphere and space defined by the International Aeronautical Federation. The so-called suborbital flight means that after the flight altitude reaches the "Karman line", it immediately returns to the ground, which is equivalent to passengers taking a higher parabola flight in space. The advantage of this method is that passengers can experience the feeling of weightlessness that is difficult to simulate on the ground, and can also overlook the earth's arc surface of thousands of kilometers from high altitude, look up at the deep universe, and experience a sense of boundless emptiness.

On August 11, 2023, the Unity spacecraft of the British Virgin Galactic company completed a short suborbital flight with three ordinary passengers.

The Eve catamaran transport aircraft carrying the Unity spacecraft is launched into space

The "Unity" spacecraft was first carried by the "Eve" catamaran transport aircraft. When it reached an altitude of about 13.5 kilometers, the "Unity" spacecraft separated from the "Eve" and started its rocket engine to continue flying.

Unity separates from Eve and starts its rocket engine to continue flying

The Unity flew more than 80 kilometers above the ground, and when it reached its highest point, the passengers experienced a few minutes of weightlessness. One hour later, the Unity landed on the runway at the launch site.

When the Unity was more than 80 kilometers above the ground, passengers experienced weightlessness

On December 20, 2023, the New Shepard spacecraft of Blue Origin sent astronauts and scientific research payloads into space, with a flight altitude of about 107 kilometers. More than two minutes after launch, the space capsule separated from the rocket and continued to climb. After reaching the highest point above the "Kármán line", the space capsule began to descend and returned to the ground smoothly under the cushioning of the parachute. The entire flight process lasted 10 minutes and 13 seconds.

The New Shepard spacecraft lifts off from a launch site in western Texas, USA

Orbital flight

Orbital flight is considered to be a true space travel. Passengers take a spacecraft at a speed of 7.9 kilometers per second and at an altitude of about 400 kilometers, making uniform circular motion around the earth. At this time, passengers experience the effects of two forces: one is gravity, which pulls the spacecraft toward the center of the earth, and the other is centrifugal force, which is generated by the spacecraft orbiting the earth and is opposite to the direction of gravity. Gravity and centrifugal force cancel each other out, so people can experience the feeling of weightlessness for a long time.

There is a significant difference between orbital flight and suborbital flight. The speed of suborbital flight does not reach the first cosmic speed required to orbit the earth, and it cannot form a continuous orbital flight. Therefore, the suborbital flight time is very short, and the weightlessness experience is only a few minutes. Orbital flight requires a long period of weightlessness and a real space environment, which has high requirements on the quality of the aircraft product and the physical condition of the crew, and the cost is also higher.

At present, foreign commercial aerospace companies have begun to explore and develop the space travel market, trying to provide space travel services through suborbital flights and orbital flights. For example, SpaceX used the Falcon 9 rocket to complete the first all-private manned space flight mission, and successfully sent a space travel group of "non-active astronauts" into the International Space Station through orbital flight for the first time.

Judging from the current trend, suborbital flight tourism has great potential for development. Compared with the high cost of orbital flight, suborbital flight relies on a relatively mature power, material, structural design and ground system technology foundation. After the flight test gradually eliminates the hidden dangers of failure, it can achieve a virtuous cycle in terms of charging standards and passenger flow. It is believed that commercial aerospace companies engaged in this business are expected to "reach a higher level".

However, space travel is an emerging aerospace industry with relatively high technical barriers, which requires the integration of advanced and reliable aviation and aerospace application technologies. Many countries with underdeveloped aerospace technologies can only sigh in despair, and even after the market is divided up, latecomers also face some difficulties in competing with technology.

my country has experienced more than 30 years of development in manned space flight and is moving from a major space power to a space power. In terms of space travel, China has a certain level of strength in both technology accumulation and technology level. According to public reports, my country has initially established the technical foundation for space travel.

I believe that in the near future, my country's space travel vehicles will also be launched, which will help the continuous development of my country's aerospace industry.

Some of the information comes from Science Popularization China, Beijing News, CCTV.com, China Newsweek, falseChina Science Daily, Xinhuanet, etc.