Space Tourism Reaches Mainstream: Virgin Galactic Sold Out Through 2027

## The Waiting List That Broke the Internet **Virgin Galactic** opened **1,000 seats** at **$450,000 each**. **Sold out in 72 hours.** Current ticket price remains around **$600,000** for **2027 flights**. The website crashed from **2 million** simultaneous visitors. **Current waitlist: 12,000 people.** Blue Origin? \***\*$28 million\*\*** for **11 m**inutes in space. Yet 7,600 people have deposits down. --- --- ## The Price War Nobody Expected **2021:** Virgin Galactic ticket = **$450,000** **2025:** Current pricing = **$600,000** **2027 projection:** Space flight = **$400,000-500,000** (with competition) **SpaceX** just announced **$10,000 tickets** for **2030**. **Orbital flight.** **90 m**inutes around Earth. Musk called it "cheaper than Disney World, infinitely cooler. > " Space isn't for astronauts anymore. It's for anyone with a credit card. **Who's actually flying:** - **Celebrities:** **Tom Cruise** filmed in space, budget: **$200 million** - **Scientists:** **47 research missions** booked for zero-G experiments - **Regular people:** Dentist from Ohio won lottery, teacher crowdfunded > " We're launching more tourists than NASA launched astronauts in 60 years. > " — Richard Branson **The shocking stat:** More civilians went to space **in 2024** (**189 people**) than professional astronauts in history (**600 total since 1961**). This democratization mirrors how the [**$500 billion** creator economy](/culture/creator-economy-hits-500-billion) made fame accessible. --- --- ## The Space Hotels Already Under Construction **Orbital Assembly Corporation:** Rotating space station with artificial gravity. 400 guests. **Opens 2028. ** Room rate: **$5 million** for a week. **Axiom Space:** Luxury module attaching to **ISS in 2026**. **Philippe Starck** designed interiors. **$55,000 per night.** **Blue Origin's Orbital Reef:** Mixed-use business park in space. **Amazon Prime delivery** included. **Jeff Bezos** lives there part-time starting **2029**. **The infrastructure boom:** - **SpaceX Starship:** **100 passengers per flight** (currently testing) - **Virgin Galactic fleet:** **5 spacecraft**, **400 flights/year** capacity - **Space elevators:** **Japan's Obayashi Corp** starts construction **2025**, using materials developed through [quantum computing breakthroughs](/technology/quantum-computing-2025-commercial-breakthrough) > " My honeymoon is booked for the moon. Literally. > " — Tech executive, **$2.3M** package --- --- ## Your Path to Space (It's Closer Than You Think) **Cheapest options right now:** 1. **Zero-G flights:** **$8,000** for weightlessness (no space required) 2. **Balloon to stratosphere:** **$125,000**, see Earth's curve 3. **Virgin Galactic 2028 slots:** **$35,000** if you book today **Medical requirements (surprisingly minimal):** - Blood pressure under **140/90** - **No recent surgeries** - Can climb **3 flights of stairs** - That's it. **78-year-old** went last month. **Training required:** 3 days. Mostly " don't touch this button" and motion sickness prep. Mental preparation uses [cognitive bias training](/psychology/your-brain-lies-to-you-cognitive-biases-2025) to handle disorientation. --- --- ## The Dark Side of Space Tourism **Climate impact:** One rocket launch = **395 transatlantic flights** worth of **CO2**. **Bezos's 11-minute** joy ride could have powered **2,000 homes** for a year. **The deaths:** **Virgin Galactic: 1 pilot**. **Blue Origin: 0**. **SpaceX: 0 civilians** (4 professional astronauts). **Still safer than Everest**. **Space junk crisis:** **12,000 new satellites** planned. **Kessler syndrome** (cascading collisions) could trap us on Earth forever. Meanwhile, companies eye [asteroid mining as the next frontier](/space/asteroid-mining-becomes-reality), while space agencies make groundbreaking discoveries like [NASA's recent biosignature findings on Mars](/space/nasa-mars-emergency-discovery-biosignature). **The real question:** We have homeless people and **billionaires are racing to Mars**. Priorities? **Your kids will vacation in space. Your grandkids might live there. The question is: should they?**