I grew up with the American series 'Quantum Leap' which featured Dr Sam Beckett, a Quantum Scientist who was trapped in time, jumping from life to life at different time periods, trying desperately to make his final leap. His sidekick, Al was a holographic image who could access data to help Sam correct things in order for him to make his next leap. Verging on the prospect of space travel, Freedom takes a look at the trending innovation by looking at what the Space Expedition Corporation (SXS) has to offer.
In preparation, training missions will fully equip the astronaut for their space expedition.
This sounds very exciting but how much is this going to cost? To join one of a hundred as a founder astronaut this will set you back at approximately £63,000. To join after the initial hundred astronauts, as a future astronaut, this is priced at £31,000, a fraction of the cost. For anyone who cannot stand the anticipation, you can join the pioneer program that comes with a high price tag of £60,000.
Question is: will space travel insurance take off? David Wade of Atrium Lloyd's space underwriter said, "It was mentioned at the recent conference in Lloyd's that one insurer will even cover lost baggage – although considering the suborbital flights will land at the same airport you departed from some three hours earlier, it's not clear to me where your luggage is going to get to!" The tour operators will be able to arrange insurance for their space craft "hulls", and third party liability cover will be mandatory. The technology and flight envelope of the suborbital vehicles means that this new market is going to attract the attention of both the space and aviation insurance markets, David explains.