SpaceVIP, an international space tourism company based in the US, is starting to do business in the Middle East. This is good news for the Sultanate of Oman, whose government wants to jumpstart the development of a domestic space industry.
Early this year, the Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology put out an ambitious plan for the executive space industry and policies. The programme puts a lot of focus on space tourism in Oman.
You will be interested on: Setup Business in Oman
The co-founder of SpaceVIP, Roman Chiporukha, talked to The Observer about his plans for the area.
When Axiom Space, a Houston-based company that runs trips to the International Space Station (ISS), approached Roman Chiporukha, co-owner of SpaceVIP, with a plan to promote its trips to the ISS in 2018, Roman didn’t know much about space.
But after the success of the first fully private crew trip to the station in 2022, SpaceVIP came into being.
“SpaceVIP was started so that the next crop of private astronauts would be inspired… A lot of us don’t seem to realise that most of the technology and innovations we use every day come from space technology. So, Chiporukha said, “we have taken it upon ourselves to first educate the public and then give them the chance to experience all of these truly unique and enriching space-related opportunities.”
Keep reading: Doing Travel Tourism Business in Oman
This month, the space tourism agency started doing business in the Middle East. It offers a wide range of space and space-like activities.
Space fans can choose from a range of activities at different prices.
At the bottom of the list are “earth-based” experiences like analogue lunar or Martian research missions where people get to experience the environment of that planet, zero-gravity trips where you can float in a cabin and feel what astronauts feel in space, and different training simulations for astronauts.
Space fans can also choose sub-orbital and orbital experiences, such as a trip on a stratospheric space balloon onboard Space Perspective’s Neptune capsule that will travel over the world in a luxury cabin with Wi-Fi and refreshments, an orbital trip around the earth or the moon, or even a trip to the International Space Station! So why would anyone want to go through any of these? Chiporukha thinks, like most of us, that it’s because it’s new, but he also thinks it’s partly because he’s looking for something deeper.
You will be interested on: Business Setup Process in Oman
“I think some people are thinking, ‘Wow, this balloon looks really cool. Can I have a well-known chef cook on it? Then other people say, “Wow, that’s pretty cool.” My sister-in-law died of cancer five years ago. What kind of cancer studies are they doing in space? I’d like to combine my time up there with doing something important and helpful. ” So I’d say it’s about 40% coolness and 60% thinking about something important and helpful,” Chiporukha said.
What do all of these things have in common? Chiporukha thinks it’s because of the overview effect.
“The overview effect is the feeling you get when you live on Earth and look at the Earth from space,” he said. “Every astronaut who has been to space has written about it.”
“And they all say, in different ways but in very similar ways, that when you look at the Earth from space, you get a strong sense of how linked everything is. Because you don’t see the world the way you and I do. You see it on a Google map, and I see it as a place with borders, dogmas, conflicts, and nonsense. You just see this beautiful blue world, and you want to protect it. It’s almost like seeing a child or baby. So, I think the overall effect is a very interesting phenomenon that could help people change in big ways,” he continued.
SpaceVIP’s business is not just limited to space trips. In 2021, the agency started the non-profit Space Prize to give young women in the space business more power. Nonproift says that fewer than 12 percent of the 600 people who have been to space are women.
Chiporukha says that the non-profit runs writing contests about space. The winners get to go on flights with no gravity and are paired with successful mentors in the STEM community. Chiporukha also gives schools space observation tools and a free online space literacy curriculum that he thinks is good for people of all ages.
Keep reading: Oman Visa Services
“[The programme] is meant to be fun and really teach you something. And just the other day, my wife read it. She says, “This isn’t just for middle school and high school kids. This is for adults who don’t know anything about space but want to learn.” So the space prize is really, really meaningful and has been a really big focus of our work while we wait for all of these other experiences to come online, so people can actually start going.” Unfortunately, none of the experiences take place in the Middle East right now. But Chiporukha is sure that the area has a lot of promise. In January, the National Aerospace Services Company (Nascom) announced plans to build the Middle East’s first rocket launch centre in Duqm. The Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) also signed a deal to set up a space settlement centre in Duqm, which is in the southeast of Oman, last year. Chiporukha thinks that the Middle East might be able to have space tourism if there is more interest in the space business and space technology.