Do you have what it takes to be a space tourist?

Greetings.

My name is Stephen and I teach an Exploring Space course to Juniors which includes all aspects related to living and working in space. If you were one of the lucky ones to get a seat on Virgin Galactic, would you enjoy the trip? Many astronauts experience space-related issues such as nausea when you launch into space. Another aspect for those new to space travel is the G-Forces associated with the vehicle launched. Depending on how you sit during your launch, you will experience forces that hit your chest area, or you will experience forces that bear down on your head.

I have had the ability to experience such forces while attending a workshop at the National Aerospace Training and Research Center. Throughout the training, we were placed in their Phoenix centrifuge and run through a simulator program for Virgin Galactic's SpaceShip 2 and XCOR Lynx.

During the XCOR simulation, I experienced a crushing pressure on my chest. The strange thing though was that the pressure was internal with no sensation on the chest bones. Everyone always said this would be like a roller coaster ride. I disagree, however, as the sensation is totally different. For the Virgin Galactic simulation, all pressure was felt downward towards your head. During my first run, I failed to keep my head back which resulted in a headache. Being smarter, my second run went much smoother as I experienced the pressure pushing down on my head. Although not experienced during the run, I had a slight nausea feeling which required a little rest before returning to the hotel.

One of the procedures you learn prior to the flight is the Anti-G straining maneuver. This requires you to tense your muscles for three seconds and breath in (1/2 lung capacity). You follow this with another three seconds of straining before pursing your lips and exhaling. This procedure ensures oxygen enters your bloodstream through the lungs and ensures counterpressure is maintained in the lungs due to the increased G-force.

Another experience while going through this is the tunnel vision you experience. You are taught to push hard on the peddles to keep from blacking out visually. During the run, we were instructed to vary the rate of how hard we were pushing on the pedals. Doing this led to an increase and decrease of the black tunnel experienced. It was kind of like the tunnel effect at the end of a bugs bunny show. At first, it was funny and fun, but it eventually got disorientating and I stopped.

Overall, how these effects influence your experience depends on the experience you encounter while entering low-earth orbit. Even if it's only six minutes or so, I can only dream and wonder how such a sight of our blue planet would change my perspective. Would I experience the "Overview Effect" so many other astronauts did? Would my nausea overtake the positive space experience? For me, the experience of space would overwhelm any discomfort experienced during the flight itself. Afterall, I would be a space tourist and could only fathom the thought of living and working in space. How would you feel?