CONCEPTUALIZING AND DESIGNING A SPACE CAPSULE FOR SPACE TOURISM

Abstract

Space tourism is an emerging market and many companies have already started to send tourists into space. Anyone can go to space regardless of harsh training and skill set and this is going to be possible with the help of space tourism. Space tourism needs a better transportation system so that the passengers/tourists have the best experience. Passengers will be carried to the edge of space in a pressurized capsule. The capsule carrying tourists needs to be designed in the best manner so the tourist will have the best user experience. In this project, the challenge of space tourism was addressed and studied thoroughly. Space tourism needs a better and safer transportation vehicle, and in this project, a novel space capsule design was conceptualized and designed. As this is a very novel challenge, the process followed for this project is crafted in a thoughtful manner, and a novel methodology is used. The users were studied thoroughly in every aspect viz.- behaviour, anthropometry, and their journey throughout the journey. The packaging and interior were considered to have the best exterior design. The novel form of the capsule was ideated, and the inspiration was taken from the design of ‘Lota’, which has significant importance in the Indian design industry. 3D realistic renderings were done of the space capsule to better understand the product’s visuals in real scenarios. A physical scaled-down model was 3D printed to study the form and visual language of the designed capsule and desired changes were done in the final version of the design.