Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been leading the space industry revolution recently. It’s no surprise, therefore, that it also wants to conquer the space tourism market. SpaceX already stands out among the key players for offering orbital instead of the standard suborbital spaceflights.
Let’s explore how this model compares to what other major space tourism companies like Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic have to offer.
Space Tourism Type
There are two types of spaceflights – orbital and suborbital. As they differ significantly, there’s a massive discrepancy between the price points. Moreover, the flight experience and potential risks are poles apart.
At present, SpaceX is the only company actively carrying out orbital flights. Boeing was also awarded the same NASA contract for developing a crewed spacecraft. However, technical delays have prevented its Starliner vessel from entering the orbital tourism arena.
In contrast, SpaceX has already used its Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket. These crafts are built for orbital missions. As a result, they can reach an altitude of over 1.3 million feet and spend several days in space. At most, these private flights can last for 10 days. Currently, orbital space tourism is limited to flying to the International Space Station (ISS).
When it comes to suborbital flights, they can reach an altitude of about 330,000 feet. Hence, they only allow passengers to spend a few minutes in space.
For now, two companies are competing in this realm of suborbital space tourism. Both are billionaire-owned and eager to take on SpaceX.
The first competitor is the publicly-traded Virgin Galactic, founded in 2004 by Richard Branson. The second is Blue Origin, founded in 2000 by Musk’s long-standing rival Jeff Bezos.
Although orbital and suborbital spaceflights are at the forefront of innovation, there’s another emerging type of space tourism service. Namely, a handful of companies offer a variety of orbital flights where the passengers are launched into orbit but never reach the ISS. Instead, they fly around for a while and then return to Earth.
Since Virgin Galactic is solely focused on the space tourism aspect of the industry, they also offer these orbital flights. Other noteworthy contenders are Space Adventures and Axiom Space.
Ticket Price
The price of securing a seat on one of the space-bound flights dramatically depends on the type of the flight.
Since none of these companies has established a regular flying schedule yet, there aren’t fixed prices available.
Due to their nature, suborbital spaceflights come at a much lower price. However, don’t get carried away; we’re still talking about six-figure numbers.
The owners of one of the first 600 tickets sold by Virgin Galactic had to pay between $200,000 and $250,000 per seat. These prices are expected to rise substantially for the company’s first commercial flights. Given the ticket cost, it’s evident that Virgin Galactic is targeting high-net-worth clients.
The same can be said for Blue Origin. Although the company still hasn’t determined its pricing policy, it’s expected to be comparable to its key competitors. What’s interesting is that the high price point hasn’t affected ticket demand in any way.
In fact, after Bezos went to space in his New Shepard rockets in 2021, a bidding war over the Blue Origin flight tickets ensued. Reportedly, the highest bid came at a whopping $28 million for a single seat.
If these are the figures thrown at the prospect of spending a few minutes in space, imagine how much it will cost to spend upward of a week there.
SpaceX still hasn’t disclosed any numbers for their commercial orbital flights. However, based on their NASA contract, flying to the ISS in the Crew Dragon could cost around $50 million per seat.
However, SpaceX’s CEO has big goals that far surpass the International Space Station. Musk’s biggest target has always been to fly human passengers to Mars. What’s more, he’s confident he’ll be able to achieve this goal for as little as $500,000 per seat.
Since space tourism is still in its early stages, these ticket prices are out of reach for most people. This high cost is partly due to the limited number of vessels each space tourism company operates. Therefore, the more spacecraft built, the lower the ticket prices.
Commencement of Commercial Flights
Although SpaceX is the only company carrying out the more complex orbital flights, they’ve already begun flying commercially. There still isn’t a regular schedule for these flights, but given their success, it’s only a matter of time.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has also carried out several commercial flights. However, almost all passengers on those flights were celebrities, most of whom didn’t pay for the ticket. So, a regular flying schedule or ticket prices are yet to be announced.
Despite many sold tickets, aspiring space tourists will have to wait a little longer to fly to space with Virgin Galactic. The company has pushed its commercial passenger service to the first quarter of 2023.
Number of Passengers
If we compare these space tourism companies based on how many passengers they can take to space at once, SpaceX wins again. Their Crew Dragon spacecraft can hold seven passengers while sitting on the 230-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket booster. Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic aren’t that far behind. Their rocket-powered vehicles can carry up to six passengers per flight.
It should be noted that SpaceX has prioritized working on the next generation of its Starship rocket. Musk’s ultimate goal is to build a system that can launch as many as 100 people into space on a single flight.
Launch Vehicle
Blue Origin plans to carry out their spaceflights in the New Shepard rocket. This rocket features a traditional design with a domed capsule sitting on top of a 60-foot-tall booster. New Shepard ascends directly upward and can reach more than 330,000 feet. The capsule separates near the top of the flight and floats for a few minutes before returning to Earth. The descent employs a parachute system to land the passengers on the West Texas desert floor.
What separates New Shepard from conventional rockets is that the booster also comes back, separately from the capsule. The company can then reuse it for future launches.
The SpaceX launch system operates similarly but features a much more powerful Falcon 9 rocket with a larger Dragon Crew capsule. The spacecraft takes several hours to reach the ISS or its intended orbit.
The Falcon 9 rocket is the world’s first reusable orbital rocket and measures 230 feet in height. As for the capsule, it’s the first private spacecraft to take human passengers to the ISS and the only spacecraft capable of returning cargo to Earth.
Thanks to 16 powerful thrusters, the Crew Dragon spacecraft is easily oriented in space. Each thruster can generate 90 pounds of force, enabling orbit adjustment and altitude control. The spacecraft is stabilized with two drogue parachutes when reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. Four additional parachutes further decelerate Crew Dragon before landing.
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo spacecraft is an outlier in the space tourism game. This rocket resembles a space plane and is released mid-air rather than launched vertically from the ground. Similarly, it returns to Earth on a runaway landing, just like a commercial aircraft.
SpaceShipTwo can climb to more than 40,000 feet, after which it starts free-falling. Then, it turns on its rocket motor and ascends to an altitude of around 295,000 feet. Virgin Galactic can also reuse this spacecraft by replacing the rocket engine and reconnecting it to a carrier aircraft.
Flight Training
Due to the nature of suborbital flights, passengers will only spend a few days training before being ready to take off. Virgin Galactic requires a three-day training program, while Blue Origin is content with passengers training for a day.
In contrast, SpaceX passengers will prepare for their flight in the same way as NASA crews. The process usually lasts for months and includes the following:
- Spending 30 continuous hours in a spacecraft simulator
- Studying manuals
- Exercising vigorously
- Practicing for worst-case scenarios
Flight Track Record
As of 2022, the top space tourism players have carried out the following number of flights:
- Five crewed commercial flights for Blue Origin’s New Shepard
- Four crewed flights for Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, all of which were test flights
- Seven crewed flights for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, two of which were commercial
It should be noted that SpaceX was the first private company to send human passengers into orbit, a feat previously accomplished only by superpower nations.
A League of Its Own
As the only company currently offering orbital flights, SpaceX operates on a whole other level than its competitors.
However, the company possesses extraordinary technology and has been putting wins on the board for years. For that reason, it’s safe to assume the results would’ve been no different had all the companies operated on a level playing field. While no one can tell what the future holds in such a competitive market, SpaceX will likely be the dominant force for years to come.