Customer Reviews

Tourists in Space: A Practical Guide (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)

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For those considering signing up for a ride into space, this is the book you must buy. The author, Erik Seedhouse, sports impressive credentials: not only does he have a Ph.D. and a post-doc, he was an astronaut training consultant to Bigelow Aerospace, and was a world-class professional athlete (a 3-time world champion no less). You have to wonder why the Canadian Space Agency didn't select him as an astronaut the last time round?

Given his background, it's not surprising much of the book examines human factors issues associated with spaceflight, but the book also provides a valuable insight into the background and history of space tourism, and profiles some of the leading developers and operators of commercial orbital and suborbital flights. The end of the book examines the future of space tourism in the form of journeys to Mars and other solar system destinations.

The real treat however, is a detailed description of the training prospective spaceflight participants will undergo, and why. 'Tourists' goes beyond describing the training process: it includes detailed training schedules for suborbital and orbital spaceflights. For suborbital flights, a five-day training syllabus is described that includes classroom instruction, centrifuge and hyperbaric training, and a zero-g aircraft flight, concluding on the fifth day with the actual suborbital spaceflight. The orbital training syllabus lasts five weeks, and includes additional classroom work, simulator runs, and survival training.

For those particularly curious about space tourism, 'Tourists in Space: A Practical Guide' is a great investment and an entertaining read.