The catastrophic implosion of a submersible near the wreckage of the Titanic is a sobering moment for another extreme and risky tourism industry: private human spaceflight. It’s not a matter of if, but when a deadly accident will rock the commercial human spaceflight industry, experts say. “It’s sort of an easy parallel to make,” space lawyer Michelle Hanlon tells Axios. “You’re in a capsule with a window that is its weakest point, and you’re going into an environment that is deadly.” And submersibles like OceanGate Expedition’s Titan are subject to few safety regulations, much like the vehicles that take extremely rich customers to space.
Three companies are currently capable of flying passengers to space. Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic fly paying customers to suborbital space, while SpaceX is able to fly astronauts and private citizens into orbit. More competitors are expected to make it off the ground in the coming years. The Titan accident has raised fresh questions about the lack of regulations governing companies like OceanGate — echoing a debate that’s been happening for years within the spaceflight industry.
Full story : Titanic sub tragedy stokes fears for space tourism.
