Is space travel Charity Ball 2.0?

Musk’s rocket can’t be a vehicle for the pleasure of the ultra rich

The 42-year-old Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is all set to become yet another space tourist by reportedly paying an undisclosed amount of money to buy all of the seats on SpaceX’s Big Falcon Rocket (BFR). He has even promised to take with him “six to eight artists from around the world” on his trip, and, on their return to earth, to create “masterpieces [that] will inspire the dreamer within all of us”. Brainchild of Elon Musk, the world’s current favourite technologist

(since Steve Jobs gave up the mantle), the BFR is planned to be a reusable launch vehicle and spacecraft system, and forms an important part of his Interplanetary Transport System plans.

Mr Maezawa, however, will not be the first-ever tourist in space. The first-ever space tourist was American multimillionaire, Dennis Tito, who spent nearly eight days in space on a visiting mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2001. He reportedly paid the Russian space agency $20 million for the privilege. Mr Musk and Mr Maezawa’s flight, however, is likely to be the first one to be conducted by a non-government-run company, Musk’s SpaceX. Many companies —including Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic — have been attempting commercial space flights for tourists who can afford it. But alongside the enthusiasm evident for such enterprises, there have been several voices of criticism for this sort of privatisation of space as well. In 2001, then NASA administrator, Daniel Goldin, was set against Tito’s visit to the ISS. The then vice-president of the European Commission, Guenter Verheugen, has also gone on record criticising the idea of private companies offering space tourism packages.

Space exploration has so far almost always been undertaken with the lofty ideals of decoding the mysteries of the universe and understanding the earth’s place in the larger scheme of things. Such projects have, therefore, been funded by governments and taxpayers. With the new race for space tourism, the question that needs to be asked is whether it is worth it. A reusable rocket such as the BFR is an amazing idea for scientists, but should it be allowed to become just another vehicle the ultrarich use for pleasure? Is space travel simply Charity Ball 2.0, where the wealthy contribute money to a cause while indulging in garishly conspicuous consumption?