space tourism

Inspiration4 announces crew for private SpaceX Crew Dragon mission
The private venture that purchased a SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to low Earth orbit has finalized the crew for that mission, scheduled to launch as soon as September.

Contest for Crew Dragon seat well short of fundraising goal
A competition to raffle off a seat on an upcoming Crew Dragon mission has raised only a small fraction of its goal so far, but the contest organizers say that they will continue the fundraising effort even after the contest ends.

Entrepreneur purchases SpaceX Crew Dragon mission
An entrepreneur has purchased a SpaceX Crew Dragon mission slated for launch late this year that will include three other people as part of a project that is a mix of charity and commerce.

Glavkosmos to sell seats on Soyuz missions
Glavkosmos, the commercial arm of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, has announced its intent to enter the space tourism market, selling a minimum of four Soyuz seats to commercial astronauts through 2023.

Axiom announces crew for first private ISS mission
A commercial Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station early next year chartered by Axiom Space will carry four private astronauts — but not a superstar actor.

Stratospheric ballooning company Space Perspective raises $7 million
Space Perspective, a startup planning to offer tourists trips to the edge of space in a high-altitude balloon, has raised $7 million in a seed round that will allow the company to test its technologies.

Virgin Galactic unveils SpaceShipTwo cabin as it prepares for commercial flights
Virgin Galactic showed off the interior of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane July 28 as the company prepares to wrap up the campaign of test flights of the vehicle and begin commercial operations.

Space Adventures signs contract for Soyuz flight with spacewalk option
Space tourism company Space Adventures has signed a contract with RSC Energia for a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station that will include an opportunity for one customer to perform a spacewalk.

World View founders launch new stratospheric ballooning venture
Two entrepreneurs who founded a high-altitude ballooning company nearly a decade ago have started a second such venture, hoping to realize their original vision of giving the public a taste of spaceflight.

Space Adventures to fly tourists on Crew Dragon mission
Space Adventures announced Feb. 18 that it has an agreement with SpaceX to fly a dedicated Crew Dragon mission that would send four space tourists on a mission to a relatively high Earth orbit.

Virgin Galactic projects rapid growth and profitability after going public
With an $800 million infusion thanks to a merger with a public investment vehicle, Virgin Galactic expects to rapidly build up commercial operations and be profitable as soon as 2021.

Space Adventures reaches settlement with would-be lunar tourist
Space tourism company Space Adventures has reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought nearly two years ago by a man who signed up for the company’s proposed mission around the moon but later sought a refund of his deposit.

Foust Forward | Space tourism’s image problem
For the very patient advocates of space tourism, the good news is that 2019 may finally be the year that tourists get to fly on suborbital vehicles.

Blue Origin still holding off on New Shepard ticket sales
Blue Origin expects to start flying people on its New Shepard suborbital vehicle early this year, but has yet to start selling tickets or even establish a ticket price for future commercial flights.

Startup announces plans for low-cost commercial space station
A startup claims it will be able to place a single-module commercial space station into orbit by 2022, although the company faces multiple and significant technical and financial hurdles.