In recent years there has been a good deal of discussion about commercialization of space and the involvement of NASA in the process.
In fact, NASA has been supporting companies that are building transportation systems to service the ISS.
The intent is to eventually let commercial operators provide cargo and crew services between Earth and the ISS, and to relieve the current exclusive use of Russian launch vehicles for astronauts.
One of the soon-to-be-pressing questions deals with the potential mixed use of these commercial vehicles for both government operations and private ventures, e.g., space tourism.
At the moment, space tourism is still in its infancy. But, entrepreneurs, such as Bigelow Aerospace, are trying to develop more tourism options, including orbiting hotels.
Will NASA be willing to allow astronaut transports to carry private tourists to hotel destinations on the same flights that go to and from ISS? To go a step further, will NASA allow commercial personnel share rides to asteroids, comets and Mars?
Some will argue that NASA should not be in the taxi business, but only doing space exploration.
So, why not hire commercial space taxis to get NASA personnel to exploration destinations while sharing with commercial customers? Ultimately, this could reduce the cost of space transportation significantly for all users.
It is entirely possible that low-Earth-orbit space tourism will blossom in the coming decades and evolve to the point that demand is so great the price for a ride will be competitive with airline fares. NASA personnel do travel on commercial airlines. Why not on commercial spacelines?
