As long as humankind has looked to the heavens, there has been a singular universal thought that has permeated throughout time. A thought that transcends language, religion, and culture: “People would pay a fortune to go to space.” All jokes aside, the sentiment still rings true. With any advancement in technology, monetization is never far behind. In a matter of just a few years we’ve gone from space tourism being just as much science fiction as Star Wars to leading experts saying we’ll see commercial space flights within the decade. So, with that in mind, here is what a trip to outer space will look like.

The Big Money Pioneers

Would it surprise you to know that as of December 2020 there have already been eight successful commercial roundtrip spaceflights to the International Space Station? Starting in 2001 the company Space Adventures sold eight of the wealthiest people in the world the opportunity to spend five-plus days on the International Space Station for the average cost of $20 million dollars each. In 2006, Space Adventures offered the opportunity to spacewalk outside the station for an additional $15 million.

Economy Class

If $20 million is a little out of your price range, maybe give Zero Gravity Flight a try. For about $7,000 dollars you can experience weightlessness for up to seven or eight minutes on specially-designed planes through Space Adventures as well as other companies. The experience comes with free breakfast, lunch, and professional photos.

The Future

Several of the world’s wealthy elite have put millions of dollars down as deposits on everything from orbital flights around the planet to future flights around the moon. And while these hyper-expensive flights will forever be out of the financial reach of most people, companies such as Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are creating suborbital space planes used specifically for commercial short duration space tourism. These flights will still cost roughly $250,000 from the onset. But the good news is, as time goes on and the technology becomes more refined, these costs will go down – and who knows, in less than two decades a trip to space may be just as commonplace as a trip to Disneyland.

For more great places to go and how to get there be sure to check out our other blog posts.