Popularity started turning against space tourism soon after both Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin launched their maiden manned flights in July. “We’ve now reached stratospheric inequality. Billionaires burning into space, away from a world of pandemic, climate change and starvation... This is human folly, not human achievement," said Deepak Xavier, Oxfam International's global head of Inequality Campaign, at the time.
“This is a sentiment that could pave the way to more calls from the public for targeted climate taxes on the lifestyles of the wealthy individuals in the New Year,” says Greenaway.Shares in Virgin Galactic have lost more than half of their value since the company's first flight in July. Branson has even sold $300 million of his own shares in the business, and a subsequent space flight has been postponed until next year.
But the rocket companies are fighting back, trying to show the world that they are more"professional," says Greenaway."There needs to be a purpose to it over and above just wanting to fly up high and look at the world."
DrAlakbarov Not to mention the billions of tons of carbon they added to the atmosphere.