After the company SpaceX successfully lifted off Earth taking a civilian crew into space, it seems we're getting closer to space tourism becoming more of a reality. While pricing for a seat on a craft into space is unclear, it is likely to only be available to the wealthy for some time. Craig Curran is the president of the DePrez Group of Travel Companies, and he says the question of when space tourism might be available to the average person is a big one.
SpaceX launches billionaire to conduct the first private spacewalkCurran says that while some of these companies are private — like Blue Origin — and don't release their pricing, it has been rumored to cost between $1 million and $1.5 million for a flight. According to market research from Polaris, over $848 million was generated from space tourism in 2023.
Onboard a SpaceX capsule, Polaris Dawn crew conducts first-ever commercial spacewalkCurran says there is also another option called Space Perspective, which is a balloon that goes up about 100,000 feet toward space. It's a six-hour journey that takes two hours to get into apogee, with two hours floating there and two hours to get back down to Earth's surface.