There are two things you need before you go on a Blue Origin space tour: big bank account, and even bigger bladder.
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos said that his space company has no plans to put a toilet inside the New Shepard rocket. People with motion sickness better think twice as barf bags too will not be provided.
Bezos, who plans to sell Amazon stocks to fund his space project, said that his company hasn't thought about ticket prices yet. His main concern at the moment is making sure that New Shepard is 100 percent ready.
Sit Back, Enjoy The Ride, And Hold It
Speaking before the audience at the 33rd Space Symposium on April 5, Bezos said that the New Shepard, the rocket that will bring tourists to space, will not have any human waste system installed.
"Go to the bathroom in advance. If you have to pee in 11 minutes, you got problems," Bezos said. The New Shepard space flight is projected to last 11 minutes. However, he also said that the boarding plan is "T minus 30 minutes." So potential passengers might have to wait a little longer than that.
"The whole thing, from boarding until you're back on the ground, is probably 40 or 41 minutes. So you're going to be fine. You could dehydrate ever so slightly if you have a weak bladder," Bezos said.
When the issue of vomiting due to zero gravity was raised, Bezos said that it takes time for people to throw up, taking about three hours before they hurl their dinner out.
"It's a delayed effect, and this journey takes 10 or 11 minutes. So you're going to be fine," assured Bezos.
A Trip Of Space-Epic Proportions
The New Shepard space flight will travel about 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the surface of the Earth, in what is called the Karman line. It is referred to as the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and space, thus space tourists can experience weightlessness at that spot, and see the curve of the Earth and the darkness of space, as well.
The space trip will last for 11 minutes for all six passengers on board. They will be strapped into black leather seats formed as a circle around the capsule's perimeter. The passengers will be facing up during takeoff, a 70-degree angle, but once in space they can unbuckle and enjoy the view through New Shepard's huge windows.
As for tickets, Blue Origins has not released any price range for the trip. In comparison, in 2013, space company Virgin Galactic, offered SpaceShipTwo suborbital flight tickets for $200,000 to $250,000. Tesla founder Elon Musk, for his SpaceX project, might charge a bit more for his moon mission, about $58 million per seat, according to NASA estimates.
