How much does it cost to go to space?

WITH two billionaires having travelled to space in July 2021, it is perfectly normal to wonder whether space travelling will be open to the public.

On July 11, 2021, Sir Richard Branson made history by becoming the first billionaire in space, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is heading to space onboard his company Blue Origin‘s spaceship, New Shepard on July 20, 2021.

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How much does it cost to go to space?

In 2019, Nasa announced it would allow tourists to visit the International Space Station for $35,000 per night.

Space travelling is possible for those who can afford it and prices vary depending on the company.

A seat in Branson’s Virgin Galactic will set you back $250,000.

A mystery bidder paid a whopping $28million to travel on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket ship but was unable to make it.

The company has not announced the standard fare for the trip.

Additionally, three people have paid $55 million each to Axiom Space in Houston to fly in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to the International Space Station 

Can you go to space?

Currently, space travelling is pricey and appears to be directed only to multi-millionaires.

However, there are several companies aiming to launch the first civilian flights into space.

Virgin Galactic is hoping to offer the first tourist trip into space while Jeff Bezos hopes to conduct the first test flight with people soon.

Space X’s Inspiration4 might be the first civilian flight that is expected to take place in late 2021.

The crew will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first human spaceflight to orbit Earth with only private citizens on board.

It will be privately operated by SpaceX using a  Crew Dragon capsule launched to low Earth orbit.

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The three-day flight will eclipse more than 90 percent of the earth’s population. 

The flight will be sponsored by 38-year-old founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shift4 Payments Jared Isaacman, who will be on the flight along with Hayley Arceneaux, Christopher Sembroski, and Sian Proctor.

According to Inspiration4 the earliest date the mission can be launched is September 2021.