Why Space Tourists Won’t Find the Awe They Seek

I think I would be disappointed with a suborbital trajectory that just touches space. Might as well combine a parable flight with a high altitude balloon. Less fuzz for the buzz.

But getting into a real orbit is obviously far more laborious and expensive, but maybe more "inspiring" than sitting in a plane that flies a bit higher.

I get the subtle hit the author fired at billionaires suddenly realizing ecological problems at the edge of space in a rocket that just burned insane amounts of liquid and solid fuel. That is a truly sad and sudden realization. Sounds a bit like the abuser that says that he doesn't want to hurt you while recoloring the skin around your eyes.

But to be fair, it isn't on a few billionaires that we face ecological problems. They also wouldn't be the people that could effect change, regardless of their insane capital. It is just the rules we give ourselves in the end.

The Overview Effect – William Shatner's Words After Returning from Space https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28854592

It likely depends much more on the observer than the conditions of observation.