That’s why a group of astronauts, engineers, and entrepreneurs have teamed up to create the world’s first private space academy. Last year saw some major milestones for the private space industry as multiple companies conducted their first manned flights.
Have started taking space tourists on sub-orbital joyrides, and just last month SpaceX launched its first crew made up entirely of private astronauts.
The problem is that, at present, only national space agencies have the facilities and expertise to prepare astronauts for the rigors of space.
“There is an unprecedented renaissance occurring within the space industry today,” CEO Maraia Tanner said in a press release.
The company won’t only be focused on supporting the private space industry’s manned missions. At present there are only six government-sponsored space R&D centers around the world, and none of these are open to the public, according to the company, which limits innovation in space technology.
Star Harbor says its new research campus will lower the barrier to entry to the space economy, and Tanner told Ars Technica.
While commercial space players are likely to have their own training facilities, the company is banking that as the number of private astronauts increases, a growing number will be happy to outsource this job.
There will need to be a major expansion in private manned space missions for that plan to come to fruition.