Suborbital Space Tourism and Its Emerging Dynamics

Context

Blue Origin has recently announced a temporary suspension of its New Shepard suborbital human spaceflight programme for at least two years, as the company reallocates resources towards lunar mission development and future deep-space objectives.

Commercial Suborbital Spaceflight

Purpose:
To enable civilians to undertake a brief journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere, experiencing microgravity under the expanding space tourism industry.

Key Goals:

To provide a visual experience of Earth’s curvature and outer space.
To facilitate paid civilian participation in space travel.

Major Operators:

Blue Origin: A private aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, operating the reusable New Shepard launch system.
Virgin Galactic: A commercial spaceflight firm developing suborbital spacecraft to broaden access to space.

Operational Height:

Approximately 100–105 km, near the internationally accepted Kármán boundary.

Operational Characteristics

Flight Path: Follows a ballistic/parabolic trajectory without achieving orbit.
Mission Length: Lasts around 10–15 minutes from launch to landing.
Weightlessness: Short-duration microgravity occurs after engine cutoff at peak altitude.
Engineering Simplicity: Requires lower energy input and less complex thermal protection compared to orbital missions.

Why Suborbital Missions Matter

Spacecraft operate at roughly one-eighth of orbital velocity.
Reach only 20–25% of typical orbital altitude.
Consequently, missions are faster, less complex, and relatively cost-effective.

Concepts to Remember

Kármán Boundary:

A theoretical boundary at 100 km above mean sea level, marking the transition from atmosphere to outer space.

Satellite Orbit:

The curved path followed by an object around Earth due to gravitational force.

Classification of Orbits:

Low Earth Orbit (LEO): 160–2,000 km
Medium Earth Orbit (MEO): 2,000–35,500 km
High Earth Orbit (HEO): Above 35,500 km

Geosynchronous Orbit:

Located at 35,786 km, where a satellite’s orbital period matches Earth’s rotation.

Source : The Hindu