About

• Space tourism is a niche segment of the aviation industry that seeks to give tourists the ability to become astronauts and experience space travel for recreational, leisure, or business purposes.
• Space travel begins at about 100 km altitude from Earth, after crossing the so-called Karman line. 
  • Anything flying below this altitude is called an aircraft while those crossing this line get classified as a spacecraft.

Karman Line

• The Karman line is a boundary 62 miles (100 kilometers) above mean sea level that borders Earth’s atmosphere and the beginning of space. 
• It is widely accepted as the boundary line separating the Earth’s atmosphere from outer space. 
• The line is named after Hungarian American engineer and physicist Theodore von Karman. 

Why in news?

• India-born aviator and commercial pilot Gopi Thotakura along with five other space tourists became the latest set of individuals to make a short recreational trip to space.

Sources

• https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sci-tech/gopi-thotakura-space-travel-cost-9344679/
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/space-tourism
• https://www.space.com/karman-line-where-does-space-begin