World's Top 12 Space Tourism and Travel Companies
SPACE TOURISM is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. A number of startup companies have sprung up in recent years, such as Virgin Galactic, hoping to create a space tourism industry. Orbital space tourism opportunities have been limited and expensive, with only the Russian Space Agency providing transport to date.
The publicized price for flights brokered by Space Adventures to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft have been US$20-40 million, during the period 2001-2009. Some space tourists have signed contracts with third parties to conduct certain research activities while in orbit.
As an alternative term to "tourism", some organizations such as the Commercial Spaceflight Federation use the term "personal spaceflight". The Citizens in Space project uses the term "citizen space exploration". Multiple companies are offering sales of orbital and suborbital flights, with varying durations and creature comforts.
Space Tourism News, Reviews & Resources
- Arca - founded in 1999. Aerospace company based in Las Cruces, New Mexico that builds space rockets and other manned and unmanned aircraft intended for space exploration. It was founded in 1999 as a non-governmental organization in Romania by Dumitru Popescu and other rocket and aeronautics enthusiasts. Since then ARCA launched two stratospheric rockets, four large scale stratospheric balloons including a cluster balloon and was awarded two governmental contracts with the Romanian Government and one contract with the European Space Agency. ARCA Aerospace is currently developing a single stage to orbit rocket designed to be cost effective rather than re-usable.
- Bigelow Aerospace - founded in 1999. American space technology startup company, based in North Las Vegas, Nevada that is pioneering work on expandable space station modules. Bigelow Aerospace was founded by Robert Bigelow and is funded in large part by the fortune Bigelow gained through his ownership of the hotel chain Budget Suites of America. "For countries, companies, or even visiting individuals that wish to utilize SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule, Bigelow Aerospace will be able to transport an astronaut to the Alpha Station for only US$26.25 million. Using Boeing's CST-100 capsule and the Atlas V rocket, astronauts can be launched to the Alpha Station for US$36.75 million per seat. In stark contrast to the short stays of a week or so aboard the ISS that we have seen wealthy individuals pay as much as US$40 million for, astronauts visiting the Bigelow station will enjoy 10 - 60 days in orbit."
- BLOON - founded in 2009. "The Near Space experience of a Lifetime." In the bloon you will enjoy a totally new way of being one with your home planet. Imagine your most graceful and pleasant journey. Imagine you are flying near space through the ozone layer and beyond till the edge of our atmosphere, bluish and thin - a delicate protection from the harshness of the Cosmos, but all caring for it. The most amazing views of our planet in her true glory from the edge of our world. You can already book your flight! The ticket price is €110,000.
- Blue Origin - founded in 2000. Privately funded aerospace company set up by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. "Reliable, cost-effective human access to space. We're working to lower the cost of spaceflight so that many people can afford to go and so that we humans can better continue exploring the solar system. Accomplishing this mission will take time, and we're working on it methodically."
- Excalibur Almaz - founded in 2005. Private spaceflight company which plans to provide a variety of deep space crewed exploration missions, micro-gravity science, payload delivery and tourism.
- Galactic Suite Design - founded in 2007. Barcelona based company, which creates oportunities around technology and people to promote a private access to Space. Founded in 2007 by Xavier Claramunt, the company creates and promotes cutting-edge concepts to foster alliances and help creating relationships among companies and research centres. Planned private space station intended for use as an orbital hotel. Packages start at £2.8m per person.
- SPACE ADVENTURES - founded in 1998. "Fly Around the Moon. " The only company in the world to have arranged for private citizens to fly to space. The world’s premier private space exploration company and the only company currently providing opportunities for actual private spaceflight and space tourism today.
- SPACE X - founded in 2002 by former PayPal entrepreneur and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk. Space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. Founded with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. It has developed the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, both of which were designed from conception to eventually become reusable. SpaceX also developed the Dragon spacecraft, which are flown into orbit by the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, initially transporting cargo and later planned to carry humans to the International Space Station and other destinations.
- Starchaser Industries - founded in 1992. Privately owned company based in the UK whose principal aim is to become a viable business in space tourism.
- STRATOLUNCH SYSTEMS - founded in 2011 by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is developing an air-launch platform to make access to space more convenient, reliable, and routine. We believe that normalizing access to low Earth orbit (LEO) has the potential to redefine our lives by creating more opportunities for commercial, philanthropic and governmental organizations to collect rich and actionable data and drive advancements in science, research, and technology from space.
- VIRGIN GALACTIC - founded in 2004. Spaceflight company within the Virgin Group / Richard Branson. On Monday 7th December, 2009 Virgin Galactic unveiled SpaceShipTwo to the world at Mojave Spaceport, California, U.S.A. "This is your first step to becoming an astronaut! All seats to fly to space are US$250,000 and deposits are refundable. The sooner your reservation is made, the sooner you will be traveling to space! The full payment is due at time of booking and will guarantee the earliest available seat. You will be joining our community of over 600 future astronauts which has become one of the most exclusive clubs in the world! Once confirmed, you're given priority access to a variety of Virgin Galactic events. Our future astronauts have visited Necker Island with Sir Richard Branson, completed G-force training, celebrated milestone powered test flights in the Mojave Desert and much more."
- ZERO G | Zero Gravity Corporation - founded in 1993. "The weightless experience." Float like an Astronaut and fly like a superhero in weightlessness. A ZERO-G Experience is the only one of its kind. US$4,950 + 5% tax: Weightless flight to include 15 parabolic maneuvers creating 20-30 seconds of weightlessness each. Includes ZERO-G merchandise, pre and post flight catering, professional photos of ZERO-G Experience®, video of weightless experience and certificate of weightless completion.
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