Gopichand Thotakura becomes First Indian Space Tourist | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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    Gopichand Thotakura becomes First Indian Space Tourist

    Posted 21 May 2024

    2 min read

    Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, he was one of six crew members selected for sub-orbital space flight of Blue Origin New Shepard -25 (NS-25) Mission.

    • NS-25 is a rocket system that has been designed to take astronauts and research payloads past the Karman line.
    • Karman line lies nearly 100 kilometres above sea level and is considered as boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.

    Space Tourism 

    • It refers to commercial activity of sending private individuals to space for recreational, adventure, or leisure purposes.
    • Types of space tourism
      • Sub-orbital spacecraft: It takes passengers just beyond Kármán line
        • NS-25 mission is a sub-orbital mission.
      • Orbital spacecraft: It takes passengers much further than Kármán line.

    Benefits of Space Tourism

    • Production of advanced spacecraft will help to generate employment, stimulate innovation, and drive investment.
      • For instance, NASA is helping small businesses for developing technologies to advance space exploration, climate research, and more.
    • Raise public awareness of space science.

    Steps taken by India in line with Space tourism 

    • Gaganyaan aims to send astronauts to an orbit of 400km for 3 days mission.
    • Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) facilitates participation of private players. 

    Challenges of Space Tourism

    • High cost per seat (at least a million dollars) to reach outer space. 
    • Depletion of ozone layer and increase in harmful UV radiation on Earth's surface.
    • Lack of responsibility and regulation to ensure the safety of passengers and environment.
    • Tags :
    • Space Tourism
    • Sub-orbital spacecraft
    • NS-25 mission
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