Commercial spaceflight is no longer purely theoretical — three companies now fly (or have flown) paying passengers past the edge of the atmosphere, at prices and altitudes that vary enormously. Here's how they actually compare.
Space tourism today splits into two genuinely different categories: suborbital hops lasting minutes, and orbital missions lasting days — the price gap between them is roughly a hundredfold.
An air-launched spaceplane, released from a carrier aircraft before firing its own rocket motor to the edge of space.
An autonomous, pilotless capsule launched vertically on the reusable New Shepard rocket, crossing the Kármán line.
Full orbital missions aboard Crew Dragon — multi-day flights, not brief hops, reaching altitudes above the ISS itself.
Paused commercial flights after 2023 to develop its next-generation Delta-class spaceplane; first commercial flight now targeted for February 2027, delayed from Q4 2026 as of its August 2026 earnings call.
New Shepard's last flight was NS-38 on January 22, 2026 (98 people flown total); paused for at least two years to redirect resources toward its Blue Moon lunar lander for NASA's Artemis program.
Continues flying private orbital missions through its Polaris program and Axiom Space partnerships, at a far higher price point than the other two.
None of these operators currently run consumer affiliate or booking programs — this section exists as a reference, not a place to book. That will likely change as the industry matures.