From Earth to Space: How Long Does It Take to Get to Space?
How Long It Would Take to Get to Space in Different Spacecraft?
Have you ever wondered how long does it take to get to space? Well, that would mostly depend on your destination because the cosmos is such a vast area that getting to some parts of it would take an immense amount of time. Plus, how long will a trip to space take also depends on what spacecraft you are using, since every space rocket has peculiarities and speeds of its own. But let’s get a better look at why travel to space, what else it depends on, and how long it could potentially take to get there.
How Long Is a Trip to Space?
A trip to the ISS, which is basically in space, can take either 6 hours or 3 days, according to mission and spacecraft profiles. According to SpaceX, the weather could also interfere with getting your goals if a rocket must adjust its flight path. Speaking of SpaceX, which is currently in charge of the ISS resupply mission after Roscosmos announced its withdrawal from this project, it takes the company from 16 to 22 hours to get to the ISS. More specifically, the shortest Crew Dragon space mission, launched on April 27, 2022, lasted 15 hours and 45 minutes. The longest one so far was Crew-3, dating back to 2021, which required 21 hours and 29 minutes to get to their destination. So far, SpaceX’s first manned flight can be considered an average flight duration of roughly 19 hours. But ISS is not the only object in space, right? So, let’s find out the answer to the question “How long does it take to get to space?”.
How Long Does Getting to Karman Line Take?
Karman line is a hypothetical border after which space begins, located at 100 km altitude above our planet. Orbital Today compared the amount of time needed for different launchers to get to the edge of space. So the fastest vehicle is Soyuz 2 with up to 3 minutes. Blue Origin made the first-ever suborbital space flight to this line in July 2021, and this trip lasted 3.5 minutes. New Shepard spacecraft maximum speed reached 3,595 km/h, and even though this spacecraft never got to Low Earth orbit, such a flight is still justly considered a spaceflight with civilian astronauts onboard. SpaceX Falcon Heavy has bitten Blue Origin by getting to the Karman line a few seconds faster, 3 minutes 24 seconds after its launch.
How Much Time does It Take to Get to Space: Prep Stage
Of course, getting to space is not at all an easy thing. Journeying out there is not only physically, but also mentally tiring. Therefore, astronauts are preparing for such journeys for months. They must pass all sorts of complicated exams so that they can work on simulations according to what their mission is, qualifying them for space travel. Fortunately for private space tourists, they can get to the Kármán line without extensive preparation. In contrast to that, NASA astronauts must train for around two years before getting assigned to a mission.
What Does Going into Space Mean?
When going into space, it wouldn’t be possible for you to just point in one direction and then just get there. The orbit target point needs to be identified so that your destination can be reached, and you can get there. You could associate this image with the Interstellar space scene, as Cooper is determined to match rotations.
As soon as astronauts get to be in the open cosmos and aboard a space station, they need to have a certain speed so that they can remain up there. Without that, these stations could rain down on our planet. The ISS is orbiting the Earth at 17,500 miles per hour. Luckily, the astronauts aboard this ship aren’t feeling this speed, as they can only see how our planet below them is rotating.
Why Should We Go into Space?
Of course, staying for 12 nights at a space hotel would cost about $9.5 million, but this issue needs to be addressed from a more economical point of view. Frank Bunger, the founder, and CEO of Orion Span, says that he’s interested in launching the first luxury affordable hotel in space. He spoke at the Space 2.0 Summit Hotel from San Jose, California, and explained that his company is trying to build a hotel that’s going to be the size of a very large jet for private missions. And soon enough, getting to orbit could become as commonplace as getting aboard an airplane.