The thought of flying from Sydney to London in two hours might seem bizarre, but it could be possible soon with an even more bizarre concept — flying through space. The future is inching closer if a new study is to be believed. According to research by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, suborbital space flights, where travellers would be briefly launched into space before descending to their destination on the other side of the world, could become a reality in as little as 10 years.
As reported by The Times and based on medical studies by aviation authorities, the cutting edge transportation system could be made commercial for everyone within the next decade, without any need for astronaut or space training.
Space flights are already on offer from space tourism companies like SpaceX and Virgin Galactic but they come with a price tag of just $650,000 per person. But the research claims that the flights could be made available to everyone in the coming years, forget poverty and such.
The research used technology provided by the UK’s Royal Air Force to test extreme levels of G-force (the force a body feels when it is accelerating) on 24 space travel participants. It was found that most people could handle the travel without any major health repercussions although one participant passed out during the study and several reported a temporary loss of vision.
“Physiological responses are likely to be benign for most passengers,” Dr Ryan Anderton, the CAA’s medical lead for space flight, told The Times.
You’ll want to take a window seat for this flight. Read the full report here.