It was 1961 when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to leave the borders of our planet. Now, there is talk of the era of space tourism, which is expected to gradually replace the interest shown in traditional tourism, long after Gagarin. Space tourism companies are popping up all over the place promising to take ordinary people on a space adventure.
IT LOOKS LIKE THAT ONLY THE SUPER RICH CAN DO BUT…
There’s a lot to mention at this point, from Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to stratospheric balloon ventures, International Space Station excursions, and orbital hotels. Grabbing a seat from the vast majority seems to be something only the super-rich can do, because tickets are sold at exorbitant prices. However, it is hoped that these prices will gradually decrease as the industry develops.
WHICH WILL WIN? WHO PROMISE TO ITS PASSENGERS?
So who will win the race to offer regular commercial flights? Which company promises what? According to the information compiled by the British Daily Mail, here are the companies competing to be the first to start commercial travels and the experiences they promise…
VIRGIN GALACTIC
- Take off from Spaceport America, New Mexico
- Experience duration: 90 minutes
- Cost per minute: about $5,000
- Swimming in zero gravity: Approx. 5 minutes
- Landscape: 17 windows to browse the world
- Altitude: 80 km
- Vehicle type: VSS Unity spaceplane
- Technically space?: No, 20km shorter than the Kárman line, the internationally recognized boundary of space at an altitude of 100km
- First flight: Probably this summer, but maybe 2024
- Number of passengers: Maximum 6 people + 2 pilots
- Sir Richard Branson has been a key player in space tourism since launching the Virgin Galactic initiative in 2004.
BLUE ORIGIN
- Ticket price: 200 thousand dollars – 300 thousand dollars
- Departure from: Van Horn, Texas
- Experience duration: 10 minutes 20 seconds
- Cost per minute: about $20,000 to $30,000
- Swimming in zero gravity: Yes, for 3 minutes
- View: It has 6 windows
- Altitude: 100 km
- Vehicle type: New Shepard rocket
- Technically space?: Yes, but still suborbital.
- First flight: several already completed but expected to reopen to tourists from 2024
- Number of passengers: 6
- Required training: 2 days
- Amazon founder Jeff Bezos entered the space industry in 2000, two years before Elon Musk founded SpaceX and four years before Branson.
AXIOM SPACE/SPACEX
- Ticket price: $55 million (including $35,000 per night living on the International Space Station)
- Takeoff from: Kennedy Space Center in Florida
- Experience duration: 10 days, 8 days aboard the space station
- Cost per minute: about $4,000
- Swimming in zero gravity: A few days
- Landscape: View of the entire Earth from the International Space Station
- Altitude: 400 km
- Vehicle: Falcon 9 rocket with Crew Dragon capsule
- Is it technically space?: Yes
- First flight: 4 or 5 more flights planned in 2022
- Number of passengers: 4 people + a flight leader
ZEPHALTO
- Ticket price: 120 thousand euros
- From: France
- Experience duration: 6 hours
- Cost per minute: about $400
- Swimming in zero gravity: No
- Landscape: large panorama window at the bottom to enjoy 98 percent of the atmosphere
- Altitude: 25 km
- Vehicle: Stratospheric balloon with a ship called Celeste
- Is it technically space?: No
- First flight: 2025
- Passengers: 6 people + 2 pilots
- Extras: Michelin-starred meals prepared by French chefs and drinks selected by a renowned sommelier
SPACE PERSPECTIVE
- Ticket price: 125 thousand dollars
- From: Marine Spaceport/Florida beach
- Experience duration: 6 hours
- Cost per minute: about $350
- Swimming in zero gravity: No
- View: Panoramic
- Altitude: 20 km
- Vehicle: Neptune Spaceship on Balloon
- Is it technically space?: No
- First flight: end of 2024
- Number of Passengers: 8
- Extras: Cocktails, ‘largest windows into space ever’ and recline seats