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 June 2024 to develop its next-generation Delta-class spaceplane; first commercial flight now targeted for early in the second quarter of 2027, after slipping from Q4 2026 and then February 2027. The first Delta-class ship reached Spaceport America for flight testing on 28 October 2026.
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.
No rocket ticket required. The Moon's shadow crosses southern Spain, North Africa and Egypt, with up to 6 minutes 22 seconds of totality near Luxor, the longest on land until 2114. Here's where to stand and how to plan the trip.
None of the three operators currently run consumer affiliate or booking programs, so their pages are reference guides. The eclipse above is the exception: flights and hotels for it can be booked today.
Curious where space travel might go after that? Our Imaginary Voyages picture trips to Europa, Venus and Saturn, grounded in what real missions have found.