EVALUATION OF EXISTING PUBLIC DOSE LIMITS APPLIED TO RECREATIONAL SPACEFLIGHT.

This article focuses on the need to establish specific radiation dose limits and safety guidelines for non-occupational participants in the emerging space tourism industry, emphasizing adherence to the "as low as reasonably achievable" (ALARA) principle. It reviews existing U.S. federal radiation dose limits, which are primarily designed for occupational exposure or general public exposure on Earth, and finds them inadequate for recreational spaceflight due to higher radiation levels encountered in space. Using historical NASA astronaut dose data as a reference, the article categorizes space tourism into suborbital, short-duration orbital, and long-duration on-orbit stays, concluding that while suborbital and short orbital flights pose minimal radiological risk comparable to frequent high-latitude airline travel, prolonged orbital stays present significantly higher radiation exposure that may increase cancer risk and thus require stricter regulation and medical screening. The authors advocate for the development of new, tailored federal regulations—likely overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)—to ensure passenger safety and maintain public confidence in space tourism.