Move To Commercial Space Travel Could Be The Future For Recreational Activities

The move to commercial space travel has been in the works some time, according to a Tennessee Tech professor.

Several billionaires have joined a new generation of the space race, the next being former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ flight on Tuesday. Dean of the College of Engineering Dr. Joseph Slater said he thinks there has been a push for space exploration after a period of stagnation following the Apollo era.

“Since that time, we have not had people back to the moon,” Slater said. “We have not had a landing on Mars with people. So I think the time is right to push our envelope further.”

When it comes to commercial tourism, Slater said people want to experience adventures like sky-diving or bungee-jumping. He said that while the flights are short now, he thinks that eventually it could take the form of a permanent space station.

Slater said that Tennessee Tech has been a research leader for several years, growing relationships with NASA and the Air Force. He said their work in the College of Engineering with the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation could eventually help Tech become a major player in space exploration.

“That’s something that most people don’t know,” Slater said. “That all of these things, energy, materials, manufacturing, these all play into achieving anything that we want in respect flight and thus specifically, space.”

Slater said that he wants people to understand that while a recreational trip to space is certainly riskier than a walk in the park, it’s something that engineers are constantly working on to make safer for the future.

“The reality is that engineers have made it safer to fly commercial than to drive in your own car,” Slater said.  “We are capable of making it safe. It’s risky, and we’re still learning how to do it better and better. “