Episode notes
What has really happened behind closed hatches in space?
In this episode of the 0g-SPOT Podcast, Eric and Alicia sit down with longtime space-tourism advocate Samuel Coniglio to explore the unofficial history of pleasure, privacy, alcohol, and commercial human spaceflight.
Sam has spent more than two decades advocating for space travel that goes beyond government astronauts and research missions. He takes us from the experimental rockets of the 1990s and the first paying space traveler to private space stations, orbital hotels, and the moment space tourism finally becomes ordinary.
Along the way, we investigate some of human spaceflight’s strangest stories and persistent rumors:
- Did a married astronaut couple secretly consummate their relationship in orbit?
- Have astronauts found private corners away from Mission Control?
- What was the alleged Three Dolphin Club?
- Did a 1990s adult film really capture sex in zero gravity?
- Why did Russian cosmonauts reportedly bring cognac instead of vodka?
- Could future space hotels finally make intimacy beyond Earth possible?
We also discuss why NASA has historically resisted commercialization, what changes when private companies control the spacecraft, and how everything from alcohol to adult content could become part of the space-tourism economy.
Sam even brings along a zero-gravity cocktail glass, inspired by the same physics astronauts use to drink coffee in orbit.
Some stories are documented. Some are rumors. All of them reveal something important about the parts of human spaceflight that official histories tend to leave out.
Because wherever humans go, humanity follows.
About our guest
Samuel Coniglio is a longtime space activist, author, and member of the Space Tourism Society. His work focuses on commercial spaceflight, space tourism, off-world lifestyles, and the everyday experiences that will shape life beyond Earth.
He is the author of Creature Comforts in Space, which explores how people may eat, drink, relax, travel, and live as spaceflight moves beyond government programs and becomes part of ordinary human life.
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