Within 10 years it will be possible to get from London to Sydney in less than two hours – but people will have to travel through space, experts say.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is funding medical research into the implications of suborbital spaceflight, where travelers can travel through space for a short period of time before descending to their destination much faster than an airplane.
Suborbital flights like those offered by Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic cost more than £350,000 per seat.
But organizers predicted it would soon become less expensive and eventually become an intercontinental travel option “accessible to everyone.”
According to the Sunday Times, a study funded by the Civil Aviation Authority found that most people handle G-forces well for suborbital spaceflight.
As published in the journal Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, commercial suborbital spaceflight is now available for tourism and scientific research and is expected to eventually grow into very fast point-to-point flight, such as from London to Sydney in less than two hours. .
Flights from London to Sydney currently take around 22 hours.
A study done jointly with King’s College London and assisted by the Royal Air Force found that those who make such flights do not need to be physically healthy or young – older people are likely to be better at space travel.
“Physiological responses are likely to be favorable for most passengers,” said Dr. Ryan Anderton, CAA chief flight physician, adding that older people generally have “harder arteries,” which reduces blood pooling away from the brain.
Source: Daily Mail
