Space Tourist, Remote Worker: Could Your Next Office Be In Orbit?

This article was originally published on Nisonco and appears here with permission.

The space tourist race could be coming to a rocketship near you! The dream of going to outer space is no longer a childhood fantasy, but soon a tangible reality. In July 2021, former Amazon AMZN CEO Jeff Bezos and passengers of his choice launched into space on Blue Origin’s first flight. Though Bezos isn’t the only out-of-this-world entrepreneur, one future project in particular piqued our interest.

Recently, Bezos announced plans for Orbital Reef: a “premier mixed-use space station in low Earth orbit for commerce, research, and tourism by the end of this decade.” Some have snarkily dubbed Orbital Reef a ‘Starship WeWork’ available for lease. Space tourism, personal spaceflight and the new Blue Origin project raise questions about the future of remote work, and what it could look like.

So we asked our work-from-home team: Would you work remotely from space if you could? Why or why not? Read on for the very diverse responses from the NisonCo team.

Where Do I Sign for An Orbital Workcation?

“I would work in space for roughly three months, the view would be killer and the experience would be out of this world. I would extend the time if I were surrounded by 50ish people, but I would leave sooner if things got sketchy.” – Tony Ham, SEO Account Manager

“F*ck yeah I would, but not forever—maybe for a couple of months. It sounds too isolating.” – Raquel Heras, PR Account Manager

“Who’s creating the interior of the rocket would decide it for me. If Emirates is handling it, I’m 100% IN!”  – Max Broburg, Public Relations Specialist

Personal Spaceflight? Yes. Work from Orbit? Not so Much

“I would love to travel to the limits of our atmosphere as a space tourist, but I don’t think I could concentrate on work from actual outer space! Top three reasons why not?  Confined spaces, missing human and fuzzy friends, and that broken toilet incident on the SpaceX capsule.” – Marissa Smith, Managing Editor

“I’d visit space, but I wouldn’t want to stay very long and I don’t think I’d be very productive, especially dealing with time zones.” – Lucas Wentworth, PR Account Manager

“I personally have no desire to travel to space, but maybe when I’m like 60 and can afford a private space flight for just like a half-hour, but after that I am good—so no working remotely from space for me” – Colten Koch, SEO Account Manager

100 Miles Over Earth Existential Dread or Paranoia Set In

“Honestly, I think if I went up in space I’d feel like my work isn’t important at all in the grand scheme of things.” – Zane Bader, PR Account Manager

“If I was up in space for more than a day, I think the paranoia that something will go wrong at any moment would kick in hard and I would cling to any work opportunity to keep my mind busy. However, I’m more of a dipping-my-toe-in rather than committing-to-being-in-space kinda person.” – Tori Gates, Director of Operations

Hard Pass: The Two Thumbs Down Land-Lovers

“Not a chance, I love the Earth too much to ever leave.” – Shannon Palmer, Researcher

“Nope because I don’t want osteopenia. This condition can cause astronauts to lose, on average, one to two percent of their bone mass every month.” – Wilfred Maina Waimiri, PR Account Coordinator

“Nope, I’m not yet ready to wear diapers every day.” – Michelle Melton, PR Account Manager (Fortunately, the New York Times reported the toilet is now working fine and diapers aren’t necessary now, but the scary memory still haunts us.)

“It’s a no for me. I don’t like feeling confined and prefer to stay grounded.” – Gina Epifano, PR Account Coordinator

“I would probably lose my mind being stuck in space… definitely a no for me.” – Dallas Evelyn, Biz Dev Manager

“Assuming that it would just be me going to space — No, I would not since I need companionship and I enjoy my life (especially my things) too much.” – Maya Melkote, Researcher

“I wouldn’t. The experience would be awesome but working remotely from home gives me more time with my family and doing things that I love.  Working from space would take all of those important things away.” – Marisa Martinez, Manager of Financial Services.

“No, I like the Earth too much.” – Olivia Swann, Researcher & Content Writer

“I feel like I’d get really frustrated trying to function without gravity.” – Matt Argon, Researcher (Same, Matt, same!)

“I agree with the not-working-in-space crowd. If I ever make it to space, I’m probably not coming back.” – Trevor Maniscalo, PR Account Manager