CULTURE SPACE ADVENTURES Ticket Price: $20 million to $100 million
Space tourism began in April 2001 when millionaire Dennis Tito made a trip to the International Space Station (ISS) via a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, brokered by a company called Space Adventures, which from 2001 to 2009 brokered eight trips to the ISS aboard Russian spacecraft for space tourists. Passengers paid between $20 million and $40 million for the ride of a lifetime. Now the company hopes to broker trips with the Russians so space tourists can orbit the moon. The ticket price will be $100 million. Space Adventures plans on making lunar trips available in the early 2020s.
SPACEX
Ticket Price: Undisclosed SpaceX plans to send their first private space tourists to the moon and back in 2023. The company’s first human-crewed spaceflight, scheduled for April 2019, will ferry two NASA astronauts to the ISS. SpaceX announced in September 2018 it will be taking Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa into lunar orbit in 2023. Maezawa plans to bring six to eight artists from around the world with him on the journey.
VIRGIN GALACTIC
Ticket Price: $250,000 Virgin Galactic is the company that first got the world excited about space tourism. Through the late 2000s, founder Sir Richard Branson promised flights into space in which passengers would enjoy incredible views and
66 DEN OF GEEK
How we’ll
visit space BY ALEJANDRO ROJAS FOR YEARS WE HAVE BEEN TOLD A NEW SPACE tourism industry is just on the horizon. However, aside from a handful of millionaires, taking a vacation in space has not become a reality. Let’s take a look at how close we are to commercial space flights, which companies will take us there, and what technologies they will be using.
experience a few minutes of weightlessness. Dozens of celebrities signed up and put down hundreds of thousands of dollars to reserve seats. However, setbacks and tragedy delayed Virgin’s plans. Now, Virgin Galactic is back on track and Branson projects the company will visit space by the end of the year.
BLUE ORIGIN
Ticket Price: $250,000 to $300,000 (projected) Co-founded by Jeff Bezos, Amazon co-founder and the world’s richest person, Blue Origin may start selling tickets for a spot on its New Shepard rocket as soon as next year. Blue Origin’s space flight experience will be similar to that of a traditional astronaut. Passengers will be strapped into seats in a large capsule on top of a massive rocket which will blast them into space. Once in space, the capsule is released and will float in space for a few minutes before dropping back down to earth using parachutes.
WORLD VIEW ENTERPRISES
Ticket Price: $75,000 ($7,500 deposit) The company is offering a balloon ride that will take people high enough for a space-like experience that is not only less expensive than its competitors, but also much longer and more comfortable. The trip will take five hours—but don’t worry, the stylish cabin will be equipped with a bar and restrooms. Their spacecraft will reach 100,000 feet before returning to Earth. This may be less than the 300,000-feet plus that Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic hope to achieve, but it will still provide spectacular views.
