SpaceX’s upcoming first private mission will be the beginning of the “private tourism market in space travel”, according to ANU astrophysicist and cosmologist Dr Brad Tucker.
Dr Tucker said none of the four people going on the flight - scheduled to take off next Wednesday in local time - are astronauts, and one is billionaire Jared Isaacman.
He said the capsule being used by SpaceX is the same type used by NASA to transport astronauts up to the International Space Station.
“They will be in space for three days, so much longer than what we saw with the Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin flights,” he told Sky News Australia.
"They’ll reach over 500 kilometres high - so that's actually higher than what the Mercury astronauts did in the 60s.”
Dr Tucker said it is going to be a “very unique flight” as, although no one going on the flight is trained, they will “be astronauts” for the duration of the trip.
“It’s the beginning, or the acceleration really, of this private tourism market in space travel,” he said.
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