Japan designs spaceport for tourists

Japan designs spaceport for tourists

The Japan Spaceport Association wrote in a statement: "Space tourism that was once closed to humans will be reopened to everyone", suffice to say their ambitions with this new spaceport construction.

Panorama of SPJ's spaceport design - Photo: BI

A team of architects from the Spaceport Association of Japan (SPJ) has designed a spectacular project: a floating 4-story spaceport on the shores of Tokyo Bay.

The Spaceport City spaceport is arranged like a traditional airport, except that spaceplanes are parked at the gates instead of commercial planes. There are even lanes to pick up and drop off passengers through the roads connecting the spaceport to the mainland.

The airport is divided into different zones, based on security requirements, and are connected by flyovers.

The project will include 2 large towers: One for departures and one for receiving guests. According to the designers, the two large towers stand out to make them recognizable from a great distance from space.

Under the proposal, Spaceport City would operate two commercial shuttles that would take passengers to an altitude of nearly 100 kilometers before returning to Earth. The space shuttle will take off like a regular plane, instead of launching vertically like a rocket. Passengers must arrive first for physical examination and training for 3 days. The staff will pick them up on the day of departure by limousine and bring them to the boarding gate.

According to the designers, Spaceport City will function as a space-related business and research facility, including an educational institute for learning about space. It will also be used to host events such as space fashion shows and international conferences. In addition, there are hotel services, 4D cinema, swimming pool, art museum, gymnasium, aquarium and discotheque. In particular, there will be a restaurant and agricultural store to sell food for astronauts such as insects, algae and vegetarian meat made from vegetables.

Once commercial flights are made, passengers can depart from spaceports like these. Japan's spaceport aims to become a new type of transportation hub, combining space travel with self-driving cars, research, entertainment and futuristic architecture.

SPJ hopes the spaceport will be operational in the next 10 years, making this dream come true as soon as possible to promote the Japanese space industry. To do this, SPJ is working with more than 20 companies, including Mitsubishi, Airbus Japan and Japanese airlines.

Commercial spaceflight is still shaping up to be a booming business, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. By 2030, the business is expected to more than double in value, to about $1 trillion globally, Bank of America said.

Companies such as Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX are racing in the commercial spaceflight market. In particular, SpaceX is working with the US company Space Adventures to send a small group of tourists into space in early 2021.