Commercial, private spaceflights and missions are at the forefront of the space-based economy

JEDDAH: “Space: The final frontier” are words that many Star Trek fans around the world know by heart. Though humanity isn’t yet in 2265, it’s an exciting time for the space industry as groundbreaking aerospace discoveries are made, a booming space economy is built, and humanity embarks on its next great adventure: outer space.

Humanity has come a long way since the Sputnik satellite orbited the Earth in 1957. Space exploration is reaching new heights today, exploring tourism ventures, private investment, and finding solutions to our earthly problems through scientific experimentation.

With time and the unprecedented successes and failures of two superpowers, the American-Soviet space race came to dominate space exploration and set a seed or flag for other nations to follow. After joining forces, the two superpowers built the largest structure in space, the International Space Station, but recently they’ve made way for new players.

Now, 77 state space agencies with more than 600 astronauts, cosmonauts and taikonauts have made it past Earth orbit, and two more Saudi astronauts are scheduled to fly into space on May 8.

Saudi astronaut and scientist Rayyanah Barnawi, mission specialist. (Axiom photo)

Saudi astronaut and scientist Rayyanah Barnawi and mission specialist Ali Alqarni, graduates of the Kingdom’s first national astronaut program, will join Peggy Whitson and John P. Shoffner on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket aboard a Dragon spacecraft as part of the Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) to the ISS.

On Thursday, Axiom Space, a leading provider of manned space services for the ISS and a developer of manned space infrastructure, hosted a virtual press conference on the upcoming mission with executives from NASA, SpaceX and the Saudi Space Commission.

“On this mission, the most important thing we can do for the (Saudi) manned space program is microgravity research and STEM outreach. From our side at the Saudi Space Commission, we’re investigating 11 groundbreaking microgravity experiments. And we’re also taking this opportunity to achieve range with three experiments,” said Mishaal Ashemimry, head of microgravity research at the Saudi Space Commission, during the conference.

“The three experiments are designed to engage over 12,000 students in 47 different locations in Saudi Arabia, whose goal is to engage them in this mission, educate them and inspire curiosity in every child across Saudi Arabia. hopefully future astronauts and future scientists that will enable us to carry out missions to the moon and eventually to Mars,” she added.

To prepare for the rigors of their 37-hour space flight, the crew members who didn’t go through the rigors of NASA training train specifically for the upcoming mission.

“The training that NASA astronauts receive begins with basic training, where they learn about astronomy and other related courses,” Michael Suffredini, CEO and president of Axiom Space, told Arab News during the conference.

He added that NASA astronauts also train extensively on ISS systems and other systems needed on the station.

“Our astronauts trained for these specific missions are very specifically trained for the things they’re going to do in orbit and the systems they’re going to use,” Suffredini said.

“The reason we brought in a professional astronaut, like in this case Peggy, (is that) they’re the ones who need to help them when they come across things they’re not comfortable with or uncomfortable with.” are not sure. Instead, we can train the private astronauts a little differently and focus on their mission because we have a professional astronaut flying with us.”

US astronaut Peggy Wilson, commander of Ax-2. (Axiom photo)

Sharing this sentiment, Ashemimry added, “Our astronauts train specifically for this mission and then for longer-duration missions. Depending on the mission itself and the opportunity, we train the astronauts on whatever they have in mind for that mission.

“So to all of us, they’re still astronauts, and they’re going to do their jobs and carry out the duties for this mission.”

The Ax-2 mission will be the first private space mission to include both private sector astronauts and astronauts representing foreign governments. It is also the first private mission to be commanded by a woman.

Once docked, Axiom Space’s astronauts will spend 12 days aboard the ISS conducting a full mission consisting of science, outreach and commercial activities.

Over the past few decades, scientists aboard the ISS have invented numerous remarkable technologies, many of which have led to technological and scientific discoveries with significant implications for life on Earth.

Barnawi and Alqarni will conduct 14 experiments, including six studies focused on developing future therapeutic applications, four experiments to study immune dysfunction in tumor-organoid models that can help predict and prevent cancer, three to understand how commercial space crew members adapting to microgravity, and an exploration of cloud seeding in microgravity.

Space travel is a venerable industry today. While government agencies are prioritizing the moon, others are finding opportunities in commercial space travel. It is estimated that more than 10,000 companies and around 5,000 investors are involved in the space industry. Morgan Stanley estimates that the global space industry could generate more than $1 trillion in revenue by 2040, up from $350 billion today.

Saudi Astronaut Ali Al-Qarni, Mission Specialist. (Axiom photo)

What comes next is really the next frontier. Space tourism, a niche segment of the space economy and industry, has been operating for more than a decade, offering suborbital space flights. Companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are offering travelers a seat for tens of millions of dollars. Now other companies are offering cheaper options to partake in similar spectacular experiences that are just as valuable as their more expensive counterparts.

Many experts believe we are witnessing a “space renaissance” as technological solutions over the past decade have significantly reduced costs and allowed companies to think outside the box and offer cross-industry collaborations.

Lower costs have opened the door for start-ups and encouraged established aerospace companies to explore new opportunities that once seemed too expensive or complicated.

But why go into space at all? One could argue that a virtual reality headset can offer views similar to those of an astronaut.

“There are a number of reasons, and fundamentally, the core of our business is getting people into space to have that essential astronaut experience, to see a planet in that context,” Jane Poynter, Founder and Co-CEO of Space tourism company Space Perspective said Arab News.

“Now you see the thin blue line of our atmosphere, you see the planet in the context of this incredible black void of space. In this context, astronauts are deeply connected to our planet, humanity and its inhabitants.

US astronaut John P. Shoffner, Ax-2 pilot. (Axiom photo)

“They come back and get involved with various environmental and social causes. It’s a way of tackling global challenges; we need to look at them in a global context. That’s what space travel does for us.”

Space Perspective announced plans last June to take tourists into the stratosphere aboard a balloon-carried pressure capsule called Spaceship Neptune. Poynter told Arab News that the company is “an experience company” committed to providing access to space in just hours and reaching 100,000 feet in a hydrogen balloon.

The need for sustainability in space exploration and exploitation is becoming more evident with the growing desire to expand human activities beyond Earth orbit, pursued by both the public and private sectors.

What was once one of the greatest impediments to advancement in space travel was the lack of deployable technologies that would allow for the establishment of outposts. Now, Space Perspective has partnered with NASA to manufacture the Neptune spacecraft, which includes 100,000 square feet of facilities, 300,000 square feet of dedicated test area and an operations center at NASA’s Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.

“Right now we’ve only seen about 650 people go into space,” Poynter said. “In just a few years, we will be seeing thousands of people, many of whom never thought they could fly into space.”

She added that the company plans to expand operations at departure locations and has begun accepting bookings for 2025.

Poynter also noted that many people are curious about the possibility of space travel, a place many think is “out there and can be tracked by others when actually reachable,” though it has challenges are to be dealt with in the expansion of operations.

She said: “When thousands of people go into space, it’s difficult to know whether they’re going to the International Space Station or to one of the other stations that are being built.

“There are many business plans that rely on at least hundreds of people, and we take that from space travel for a few to space travel for the many.”