You can go to space without becoming an astronaut or a cosmonaut. If you have the money and the right connections, you can experience near-space travel, or at least get fairly close to it. But if you’re not a celebrity or extremely wealthy, your options are limited if you want to experience the thrilling sensation of zero gravity and see Earth from above. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort, there are some ways for a normal person to go to space. Not all of them are easy, and most require some significant investment of time and money, but they’re all possible with the right combination of circumstances. Read on for more information about how can a normal people to go to space.
Go for an up-and-coming space tourism company, like Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is one of the world’s most famous space tourism companies. It’s backed by mogul Sir Richard Branson, and Virgin Galactic has been planning to send tourists to sub-orbital space since 2004. The company became a fully operational space line in 2009, and it has been taking ever-bigger steps toward sending tourists to space ever since.
Virgin Galactic currently has more than 700 customers signed up. Once Virgin Galactic finally reaches space, each customer will have paid an average of $250,000 for the privilege of experiencing micro-gravity and seeing Earth from above.
Virgin Galactic will be sending its customers into space on SpaceShipTwo, a reusable space plane that is being built by the company Scaled Composites.
Like many other space tourism companies, Virgin Galactic has suffered some setbacks along the way (most recently, a fatal explosion in 2014 that killed one person and badly injured another). It’s unclear when Virgin Galactic will reach space. Once it does, even after all this time, it will probably be worth the wait.
Become an astronaut through a process called Cosmonaut Training
The most traditional way for a normal person to go to space is to become an astronaut. Astronauts are people who leave Earth’s orbit and travel to other planets, like Mars. The path to becoming an astronaut is long, competitive, and expensive.
The process begins with a person applying to become an astronaut. They will probably have to be an experienced pilot and have a science or engineering background. The next step is to sign up for and pass one or more astronaut selection rounds.
These are lengthy, rigorous processes that involve a lot of serious testing, interviews, and medical tests. Once a person has passed selection, they train becoming an astronaut in a special spaceflight school. Astronaut training takes years, and it involves long periods of living in space-like isolation.
Once a person has completed astronaut training, they have to wait for a mission to open up. This could be years or even decades. This is the most difficult part of the process, as astronauts have no real control over when or where they go.
Go for a sub-orbital flight by strapping yourself to a regular rocket
For about a decade, people have been strapping themselves to regular rockets and then drifting away from them as they fall back to Earth. This is a sub-orbital flight, which means the rockets don’t go high enough to go into orbit.
This sub-orbital flight experience is offered by Virgin Galactic (the same company mentioned above), XCOR Aerospace, and Blue Origin. The Virgin Galactic flights cost $250,000, the Blue Origin flights cost $100,000, and the XCOR flights cost $100,000.
You can’t just buy a ticket and expect to go to space. You have to pass an extensive medical examination, and you have to be relatively young (under 60). Furthermore, you will have to be extremely fit and have a high tolerance for risk. And it’s not clear how long these sub-orbital flights will last or what they will feel like.
Go to space by strapping yourself to a regular rocket and then drifting away from it
This is a variation of the sub-orbital flight experience mentioned above. In this scenario, you don’t strap yourself to a rocket. You just strap a rocket to yourself, and then let it go. The rocket will carry you to a certain height, and then you just let it fall back to Earth.
To do this, you would have to strap a regular rocket to your back and then find a way to get it very high in the atmosphere without burning you to death.
This would require an extremely high-power rocket, a special suit to protect you from the extreme heat, and a large supply of oxygen. This is probably not the most efficient or practical way to go to space, but it’s possible.
Learn how to skydive in micro-gravity conditions
This is the simplest and easiest way to go to space for free. This method will probably not give you the full space experience, though. You won’t get to see Earth from above or experience zero gravity in any meaningful way.
However, you will experience almost all the same psychological effects of space travel, like increased confidence and a feeling of being more open-minded. You can experience micro-gravity conditions by jumping out of an airplane or flying in a special plane that creates conditions of partial weightlessness.
Because this only happens for a few seconds at a time, it’s not quite the same as going to space, but it’s close enough for most people.
Conclusion
Going to space is a thrilling and rewarding experience, and there are many different ways for a normal person to do it. There are, however, some significant limitations, and it’s not all that easy.
It takes a lot of money and a lot of time, and it’s far from guaranteed that it will happen. If you’re serious about going, there are a few ways to increase your chances.
