India’s space research agency is testing capabilities of space tourism

He said the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre — also known as IN-SPACe, seeks to promote active participation of the private sector in carrying out end-to-end space activities, including space tourism. In-SPACe is an autonomous body under the space department to promote, handhold and authorise private sector activities in the space domain. In the West, three billionaire entrepreneurs, Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, are competing to usher in a new era of commercial space tourism. The three invested billions of dollars in their space companies, each promising to ferry paying customers on rides to space.

Branson’s space tourism company, Virgin Galactic Holdings, sees its next commercial flight coming in the first quarter of 2023, after it completes a structural overhaul of its existing carrier plane, VMS Eve. According to Wio News, for indigenous space tourism to become a reality in India (as the Minister suggested), it would require all of the following – flawless success of the Gaganyaan programme, multiple repeats of the same, development and successful flights of a re-usable rocket meant for ferrying tourists, ensuring that all systems are reliable& low-cost to be feasible as a business etc. All of this requires time(in decades), large-scale investment and true dedication to the cause of Space tourism, as seen in the private-sector examples from the Western world.

However, ISRO has completed many milestones over the years. Though the progress is slow, India’s focus on promoting local manufacturing and local companies is increasing.