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Yes, space tourism is a thing. Here’s everything you need to know about it right now.

For many people who grew up watching science fiction movies and television, and read books about space travel and being blasted off to the moon and beyond—space is still the final frontier. These days, it’s more about science than it is about fiction, because space tourism is very much a reality, and not only for astronauts. 

This means that dreams of visiting outer space are being brought closer to the general public, and while the possibility of ordinary people being able to book a ticket at a space hotel sounds amazing, developments in the space industry show us that this is not as far-fetched as we once thought it was. Space flights have ceased to become a thing of the future because they’re already happening right now.

The space industry has been working on developments and innovations for making space tourism more accessible to ordinary citizens, but in 2022, these “ordinary citizens” include the extraordinarily wealthy. While celebrities and VIPs have been reported to book their flights to outer space, it may be a while before ticket prices move closer back down to Earth. In the meantime, the space tourism race continues, and what an exciting race it is.

There are three private companies that are neck-and-neck at the forefront of space tourism. All of these have been building space crafts, developing platforms and spaceports, and collaborating with the best scientists in the field. Let’s take a look at some of these leaders in space tourism and what they’ve contributed so far. 

A Billionaire’s Space Race

The biggest names in the space tourism scene belong to three of the richest, most recognizable billionaires living today. 

The British business magnate Sir Richard Branson started Virgin Galactic in 2004. His space flight company believes that by flying into space, we can find out what can make life better for us here on Earth. Virgin Galactic has completed twenty-seven out of twenty-nine milestones set by the FAA (Federal Flight Administration) in preparation for commercial service. This includes two piloted test flights. The company resumed selling tickets in August 2021 after a hiatus of three years. With ticket prices listed at $450,000, its current prices are about $2000,000 more expensive than what was initially offered before 2018. Still, even with the hefty price tag, about 700 people have booked a seat for Virgin Galactic’s 90-minute tour. 

Blue Origin was started by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. According to Blue Origin’s official website, the company is focused on exploring resources found in space in order to preserve our own planet. Apart from space tourism, Blue Origin is interested in exploring the possibilities of building infrastructure outside our planet for the benefit of future generations. Last year, the company was successful in auctioning off a seat on their New Shepard rocket for $28 million dollars. Then on July 20, 2021, Blue Origin made history by launching its first crewed spaceflight, breaking four Guinness World Book Records. 

Tesla Motors’ CEO Elon Musk not only founded SpaceX, but he is also its lead designer in charge of developing spacecraft for the company. SpaceX aims to build a fully reusable spacecraft that is capable of bringing humans to Mars and beyond. The company has partnered with several other space tourism companies like Space Adventures and Axiom. In September 2021, SpaceX was successful in launching tourists into orbit. The mission, which benefited a children’s hospital was called Inspiration4. Its crew was led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, who was joined by three other civilians aboard the Falcon9 rocket. 

No doubt that these three giants are steering the space tourism trajectory, but

there’s a fourth player called Space Perspective. Founded in 2019 by Tabor McCallum and Jayne Poynter, the company is a fast-growing start-up specializing in sub-orbital space flights. Space Perspective has even grabbed the attention of Virgin Galactic’s Sir Richard Branson and Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos. The company’s aim is to provide cheaper, more affordable space tourism. Their official website showcases their vision for orbital space tourism as a truly immersive, luxury travel experience. What makes Space Perspectives unique is that instead of boarding rockets for space travel, the company is putting hi-tech balloons in the spotlight. 

As far as space tourism start-up companies go, Space Perspectives has been performing competitively against its larger counterparts, with seats for flights in 2024 all snapped up. The biggest draw? The relatively lower cost of tickets. At $125,000 per ticket, it’s a bargain compared to its counterparts’ price tags of $450,000 to $50M. 

With each of these companies’ successful launches, developments, and innovations, humanity comes this much closer to traveling to outer space. While there may be quite a lengthy waitlist yet, and the prices for tickets are still stratospherically high, the rest of us here on Earth watch these amazing pioneers with bated breath for the next big development in space tourism. 

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