SWOT analysis, space tourism market, Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic, Jeff Bezos, Amazon, Elon Musk, BlueOrigin, carbon footprint, distributive justice, CSR Corporate Social Responsibility, profitability
Major players in the sector today, Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic), Jeff Bezos (BlueOrigin), Elon Musk (SpaceX), are now familiar names when it comes to space tourism. All of them have the ambition to democratize access to space with, however, some subtle differences in their respective strategies. Indeed, the concept of "space tourism" brings together different offers.
We can test, in an airliner, the effects of gravity on Mars or the moon. This so-called parabolic flight is offered by the company Novespace which, with 217 two-and-a-half-hour flights on the A310 zero-G, has already carried a total of 1,856 passengers.
The next offering is suborbital flight. Here you ascend beyond the Karman Line (100 km) to see the roundness of the earth with your own eyes and experience weightlessness. Virgin Galatic and BlueOrigin offer this type of travel. They are positioned on the same segment with different vessels; a suborbital space plane (SpaceShipTwo) for the first and for the second a capsule (NewShepard) propelled by a launcher.
[...] Market figures Despite dissenting voices to denounce segregationist and environmentally unfriendly tourism, demand is high, and market research shows that more than a thousand people a year will be candidates for suborbital travel. This produces, within 10 years, a turnover of 1 billion dollars. So it is this financial windfall that sparks a race for the stars. In the starting blocks tenors sharpen their weapons. Prospective studies for suborbital flight predict a figure between 300,000 and 400,000 euros. That of the parabolic flight is known to him (6000 euros). [...]
[...] Finally, satellites: our daily life is punctuated by their activity. Weather, mapping, GPS and telecommunications are all practical applications in our lives of putting satellites into orbit Alternative to life on Earth The development of space tourism is an opportunity in the sense that it prepares humanity for life elsewhere than on Earth. Today, Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk can be seen as demiurges as their desire to create roads, bridges, rivers, public transport, in short, to install human colonies on Mars or in space, is considered as megalomania. [...]
[...] And it is proven that the billion people on earth will not emit as much in a lifetime. Regarding SpaceX, The Conversation media informs us that a complete flight of the Falcon 9 rocket to ISS is responsible for 1150 tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere. As for the SpaceShipTwo, the carbon footprint would be 27.2 tons. Conclusion and strategic recommendations The above SWOT analysis calls for the following strategic observations and recommendations: Regarding the optimization of strengths, it is necessary to maintain the momentum in terms of innovation in the offers, to take care of the brand image and above all to take advantage of the strong barrier to entry to maintain the oligopoly and gain market shares. [...]
[...] Thus, for the promoters of space tourism, this legal vacuum is an opportunity. The space tourist enjoys no legal definition and, therefore, no legal protection. The liability of firms in the market is therefore not engaged. Indeed, under the current state of the law, States are responsible for the actions of their nationals in space. In addition, the regulation of traffic and the occupation of space is also poorly supervised, which gives free rein to all ambitions Related markets For the 3-tech barons, who each want to own, control and colonize space, there is an opportunity. [...]
[...] Finally, remain reasonable in the dream and excess because the public authorities will soon cease their prerogatives because space is not the playground of megalomaniac billionaires. [...]
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