China sells space travel tickets

Deep Blue Aerospace, a prominent Chinese aerospace startup, made a milestone on October 24 when it opened sales of commercial space travel tickets for the first time via e-commerce platform Taobao. The first tickets were quickly snapped up, marking a promising start for the country’s space tourism development.

The trip is expected to take place in 2027 on a manned spacecraft using the Nebula-1 rocket. The flight will reach an altitude of 100 to 150 km, surpassing the atmosphere and reaching the edge of space, although not entering orbit. The journey will last about 12 minutes, of which at least 5 minutes will be spent in a state of weightlessness. In particular, the Nebula-1 rocket is reusable, promising to bring economic and sustainable benefits to this space tourism program.

The round-trip ticket price is announced at 1.5 million yuan, equivalent to about 210,900 USD, more than half the price of 450,000 USD of Virgin Galactic, the company of British billionaire Richard Branson. Especially when buying through Taobao, the ticket price is reduced to only 1 million yuan. The company announced that all citizens between 18 and 60 years old, in good health, can participate. All candidates will have to complete a strict health test, and the deposit of 50,000 yuan is refundable within 7 days.

Mr. Huo Liang, founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Deep Blue Aerospace, emphasized the safety of the flight through the livestream. He affirmed:"We don't offer one-way tickets, but round-trip tickets. Human life is the most important, so we have to make sure everyone returns safely."The spacecraft is expected to land using an advanced parachute system, ensuring passengers return to Earth safely.

The global space tourism market is booming with many companies participating. Companies such as Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin have also successfully completed test and commercial flights. SpaceX recently completed the first three-day orbital tourist flight in 2021. China is quickly catching up with this trend, with domestic companies such as CAS Space also planning tourist flights by 2028.

In addition, China has also continued to assert its position in the space industry with the success of the Shijian-19 satellite mission.

China’s first reusable satellite was launched in September and has conducted hundreds of experiments on space breeding, contributing to the development of new crop varieties and improving food security. On October 11, the satellite landed at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. On October 24, the satellite delivered international equipment and cargo from space to countries including Thailand and Pakistan.