Imagine starting a trip as an ordinary tourist and finding yourself in space thousands of kilometers above Earth a few days later. You see the blue planet from the window and experience weightlessness for a few minutes. Although this sounds like a plot from a science fiction film, it is becoming a reality for wealthy tourists.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, one of China's online travel platforms has launched a package for space flights. The cost of this package is about 5.1 million yuan, which is equivalent to approximately 70 million rupees (US$759,900). It is important to note that this will not be a long mission into space; the time spent in space will only be a few minutes.
This package, available on the Chinese travel platform, includes a six-day program. The first four days will be dedicated to preparation and training before the space flight. On the fifth day, the real adventure begins: passengers will be sent on a suborbital flight using an air launch from Los Cruces in New Mexico, USA. The total flight duration will be about 90 minutes.
During the flight, tourists will spend several minutes in conditions simulating space and experience weightlessness. The package price includes the space flight itself and related accommodation. However, round-trip flights to the USA, visas, insurance, and other expenses must be paid for separately.
Since a trip to space is not a regular airline flight, passengers must undergo various types of training before the flight. This includes simulation training, centrifuge and high G-force training, parabolic flight, emergency situation drills, and emergency exercises. Tourists will also be taught how to use spacecraft equipment.
Simply put, even by paying around 70 million rupees, you won't get to space just by getting on a plane. First, your body and mind must be prepared for this experience. During the flight, passengers will feel weightlessness for a few minutes and be able to observe the Earth from 17 windows of the spacecraft. After completing the trip, they will be issued a commercial astronaut certificate from the Association of Space Exploration. Thus, the entire experience includes reaching space, spending a few minutes there, and returning to Earth.
After launching this package in China, it generated significant interest. According to data from the Chinese travel agency's chatbot, two clients have already booked this package for the 2027 program. Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic has received a total of 681 bookings from around the world. The Chinese travel platform Ctrip called it 'elite sport,' clearly indicating that this space flight is still far beyond the budget of the average tourist.
The company utilizing the space flight for this package is the American Virgin Galactic. It was founded by British businessman Richard Branson in 2004. This California-based company conducts suborbital flights for private individuals and research from Spaceport America in New Mexico. Virgin Galactic has completed 12 space flights with its VSS Unity Spaceplane, including seven commercial missions between June 2023 and June 2024, after which this spaceplane was retired. The company is now working on a larger Delta Class spacecraft that can carry more passengers. The company's goal is to make commercial space travel accessible to a larger number of people in the future.
Virgin reported in August, providing second-quarter revenue information, that a batch of tickets offered in March had been sold. These tickets were priced at US$750,000, which is approximately equivalent to 6.5–70 million rupees. The company aims to conduct no less than 10 flights per month by the end of the second quarter of 2027. Furthermore, the company expressed hope that its quarterly cash flow could become positive at some point in 2027.
Currently, American companies lead the field of commercial space tourism. In addition to Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin is also known for its suborbital tourist flights. Commercial crewed space tourism has not yet begun in China, but many local private companies are actively working in this direction. Some companies are developing their own vehicles for suborbital space tourism. Deep Blue Aerospace began selling tickets for its first suborbital space tours in October 2024, setting the price at 1.5 million yuan. The company aims to conduct its first manned flight in 2027.
Thus, the experience of flying into space for a few minutes costs a huge amount of money. A suborbital flight lasting about 90 minutes, during which one can experience weightlessness, will cost approximately 70 million rupees, excluding costs for flights to the USA, visas, and insurance. However, it is evident from all this business that space has ceased to be the domain of only scientists and cosmonauts.