Sales in the space tourism space, admits Mr. Curran, “are fairly hard to make,” and mostly come from peer-to-peer networks. “You can imagine that people who spend $450,000 to go to space are probably operating in circles that are not the same as yours and mine,” he said.
Some of the most popular offerings from Mr. Curran’s flights allow you to experience the same virginal sense of weightlessness that astronauts feel in space, which he arranges for customers via chartered, specialized Boeing 727s that are flown in parabolic arcs to simulate being in space. room. Operators, including Zero G, also offer the service; the cost is about $8,200.
You can almost count the number of completed space tourist launches on one hand – Blue Origin has had four; SpaceX, two. Virgin Galactic announced Thursday that the launch of its commercial passenger service, previously scheduled for late 2022, has been delayed to early 2023. Many of those on waiting lists bid their time before departing by signing up for training. Axiom Space, which has a contract with SpaceX, currently offers NASA partner training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Virgin Galactic, which already offers a “customized Future Astronaut Readiness program” at its Spaceport America facility in New Mexico, is also working with NASA to develop a training program for private astronauts.
Aspiring space tourists should not expect the rigors faced by NASA astronauts. The training for Virgin Galactic’s three-hour journeys is included in the price of a ticket and lasts a few days; it includes pilot briefings and will be “fitted for your custom Under Armor spacesuit and boots,” according to the website.
Not ready for a rocket yet? Balloon rides offer a less hair-raising celestial experience.
“We’re going into space at 12 miles per hour, which means it’s very smooth and very gentle. You don’t shoot away from Earth,” said Jane Poynter, co-founder and co-chief executive of Space Perspective , which is preparing its own tourist balloon spaceship, Spaceship Neptune. If all goes according to plan, voyages will begin from Florida in 2024, at a cost of $125,000 per person, a fraction of the price tag for Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, but still more than double the average annual salary of a US employee.
Neither Space Perspective nor World View has yet the required approval from the FAA to operate flights.
Travel trends that will define 2022
Looking forward. As governments around the world ease coronavirus restrictions, the travel industry hopes this will be the year when travel comes roaring back. Here’s what to expect:
Unique implications
Whether a capsule or a rocket is your mode of transportation, the travel insurance company Battleface launched a civilian space insurance plan in late 2021, a direct response, CEO Sasha Gainullin said, to a surge in interest in space tourism and the infrastructure. Benefits include accidental death and permanent disability in space, and are valid for spaceflights on operators such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic, as well as balloon flights in stratospheric space. They’ve gotten a lot of questions, Mr. Gainullin said, but no purchases yet.
