Bullshit. It's been possible for decades. It always dies on the vine.
That doesn't mean larger space tourism won't be viable in the near future, there have been a LOT of advances since then in cost reduction and specific private venture companies dedicated to it. Space tourism has
already happened.
"If going to the moon was safe enough and relatively cheap enough,"
Yeah and if my grandma had wings she'd be an F-15. So what? It's all just bullshit dreams, Dave.
Except for the people who have already paid $20M a pop to go into space, it's already an industry that has had a half billion dollar customer turnover. Not to mention those who have already ponied up the money to go with Virgin Galactic.
Bullshit dreams huh?
Going up in MiG-29 is not just "practically" doable, it is LITERALLY doable. How many do it? Did you?
Thanks for bringing that up. I was actually very close to paying the $10,000 or so back in the 90's when this became a thing. I was seriously trying to decide between a Mig-29, SU-27, or even the Mig-25 "edge of space" experience. I'm not joking, I almost booked the ticket. Ultimately decided it was better to save that money at the time due to various circumstances. Sure I talked about this in a live show long ago.
It's still on my bucket list. It's not like I can now say "see you honey, I'm taking a week off to go to Russia and fly in Mig, mind the kids for me".
Why not? Because you are more attracted to the dream than the reality. If everyone COULD go to the Moon, you'd want something even more exotic because this isn't about space, it's about a dream. You'd want to visit the core of Jupiter instead because THAT's unattainable.
You don't seem to be grounded in reality.
Of course not everyone goes on these thing, majority of the population of the US for example have never even left their own country.
I would not go for a shot into space or the moon right now because I have kids I want to see grow up, and the circa 1% chance I wouldn't come back is too high for me. But in my retirement I most certainly would take that risk.
That's fine, just don't confuse daydreams with the toxic space religiosity or sci-fi nonsense of children who grew up on TV and no critical thinking skills.
I'm basing this on
actual data, and the blindingly obvious psychology of human adventure.
Do you think those 1000+ people a year who pay $50k+ to be hauled up everest for bragging rights and spend a few months doing it in horrible conditions would rather do that, or take the same chance of death and fly to the moon instead that could be done in a week in far more comfort and also zero prep in comparison? FYI, there is already a zero death rate for space tourism, and it's an actual thing.
And that's just for starters. Once people see it's a "tourist thing", albeit an extreme once-in-a-lifetime tourist thing, they will flock.
And by flock I mean, a few thousand a year tops, just like other extreme things like Everest, or Mig flights, not hundreds of thousands.
Heck, once-in-a-lifetime trips to the antarctic take longer than a moon flight would.