SpaceX opens era of amateur astronauts, cosmic movie sets

X’s debut astronaut launch is biggest, most visible opening shot yet in NASA’s grand plan for commercializing Earth’s backyard.

Amateur astronauts, private stations, flying factories, out-of-this-world movie sets — this is future ncy is striving to shape as it eases out of low-Earth orbit and aims for moon and Mars.

It doesn’t quite reach fantasized heights of George Jetson and Iron Man, but still promises plenty of thrills.

“I’m still waiting for my personal jetpack. But future is incredibly exciting,” NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren said day before X’s historic liftoff.

NASA astronaut Nicole Mann, who will test drive Boeing’s capsule next year, envisions scientists, doctors, poets and reporters lining up for rocket rides.

“I see this as a real possibility,” she said. “You’re going to see low-Earth orbit open up.”

ro to get re has never been so crowded, with Elon Musk’s X company leing pack.

A week ago, X became

“This is hopefully first step on a journey toward a civilization on Mars,” an emotional Musk told journalists following liftoff.

Closer in time and is X's involvement in a plan to launch Tom Cruise to station to shoot a movie in ar year or so. NASA ministrator Jim Bridenstine embraces idea. He wants NASA to be just one of many customers in this new -traveling era, where private companies own and fly ir own ships and sell empty seats.

“Kind of a changing of guard in how we're going to do human flight in future,” said Mike Suffredini, a former NASA station program manr who w les Houston's Axiom company.

Axiom has partnered with X to launch three customers to station in fall 2021. An experienced astronaut will accompany m, serving as commander-slash-tour guide. Two private flights a year are planned, using completely automated capsules belonging to X or Boeing,

ticket price — which includes 15 weeks of training and more than a week at station — is about $55 million. Besides three signed up, ors have expressed serious interest, Suffredini said.

Since last weekend's successful launch, “everybody’s starting to wonder where ir place in line is,” Suffredini told Associated Press on Thursday. "That's a really, really cool position to be in w.”

ventures Inc. of Vienna, Virginia, also has teamed up with X. Planned for late next year, this five-day-or-so mission would skip station and inste orbit two to three times higher for more sweeping views of Earth. cost: around $35 million. It's also vertising rides to station via Boeing Starliner and Russian Soyuz capsules.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic are taking it slower and lower with tourist flights. se -skimming, up-and-down flights will last minutes, t days, and cost a lot less. Hundreds alrey have reservations with Virgin Galactic.

Branson is only one of three billionaires planning to launch himself before putting customers aboard at $250,000 a pop. His winged rocketship is designed to drop from a customized plane flying over New Mexico.

Blue Origin's customers will launch on rockets from West Texas; capsules sport wall-to-ceiling windows, largest ever built for a craft.

It's t just rocket rides that have companies salivating.

Beginning in 2024, Axiom plans to build its own dition to 260-mile-high (420-kilometer-high) outpost to accommodate its private astronauts. segment would later be detached and turned into its own free-flying abode.

ventures is marketing flights to moon — t to land, but buzz it in Russian craft.

moon — considered proving ground for ultimate destination Mars — is where it's at se days. NASA is pushing to get astronauts back on lunar surface by 2024 and establish a permanent base re.

Musk's company recently won contracts to haul cargo to moon and develop a lunar lander for astronauts.

But bigger draw for Musk is Mars. It’s why he founded X 18 years ago — and why he keeps pushing envelope.

“I cant emphasize this eugh. This is thing that we need to do. We must make life sustainably multi planetary. It’s t one planet to exclusion of ar, but to extend life beyond Earth," Musk said after last weekend's launch.

“I call upon public to support this goal,” he ded, beckoning to NASA TV cameras.

To fulfill that vision, X is using its own money to develop a massive, bullet-shaped steel craft called Starship at bottom of Texas. Protos repeatedly have ruptured and exploded on test p, most recently on eve of company’s astronaut flight from Florida’s Kennedy Center.

NASA's Bridenstine said is currently a $400 billion market, including satellites. Opening up flight to paying customers, he said, could expand market to $1 trillion.

goal is to drive down launch costs and ramp up invation, drawing in more people and more business. By NASA's count, 576 people have flown in , with only wealthy few footing ir own bill.

world’s first tourist, California businessman Dennis Tito, paid a reported $20 million to Russians to fly to station in 2001 — against NASA’s wishes. Canian founder of Cirque du Soleil, Guy Laliberte, shelled out $35 million for a Russian ticket in 2009. ventures arranged both deals.

“It really is billionaire boys’ club,” former shuttle astronaut Leland Melvin said during last Saturday's launch brocast. Once prices drop, he’d consider returning to , but t without his dogs.

“y’re rey to go, need X suits for m,” he said.

Once lunar bases are established, next step will be Mars in 2030s, according to Bridenstine.

“Those are kinds of things that inspire next Elon Musk, next Jeff Bezos, next Sir Richard Branson. And that’s what we have to get back to as an ncy,” he said.

X still has to get NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken safely back to Earth this summer in its Dragon capsule. But company alrey is looking ahe to next astronaut crew. Crew mission director Benji Reed got a brief taste of this future as he wrapped up a chat with astronauts Monday.

“Thank you for flying X,” he chimed.