“There's going to be an awareness to it that it might not have had before, so it might actually increase possible motivation for some people.” How safe is space tourism? “I don't expect it to slow down,” Petrick said.

While extreme tourism has been in the spotlight amid the race to recover the sub, it’s unlikely that the industry is going to take a significant hit because people “typically have short memories,” according to Texas A&M University professor James Petrick, who studies tourists’ purchase behaviors. Monthly spaceflights are expected to follow.

Galactic 02, the company’s first private astronaut mission, is scheduled for early August. Three crew members from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy plan to conduct microgravity research on the trip. Virgin Galatic’s first commercial spaceflight, Galactic 01, is a scientific research mission that's set to fly between June 27 and 30. Virgin Galactic is set to launch its first commercial spaceflight next week, indicating that extreme tourism is still drawing interest despite the recent deaths related to the Titanic tourist submersible's implosion.

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