Exploring the Cosmos: Will commercial travel ever include trips to space?

Nowadays it feels like we have explored every corner of the globe, if you want to visit a particular place there are very few areas on Earth beyond your reach. As humanities never ever ending curiosity and desire for new experience starts to hunger, we have started to turn our gaze towards the stars. Space exploration is nothing new, humans have successfully ventured to space since the 60s. But how about us average joes who are no longer on the path to becoming astronauts? In this article we will discuss the exciting possibility of commercial space flights, and you can assess your chances of ever leaving our atmosphere. 

How far away is commercial space travel?

Currently leading the new ‘Space race’ is Virgin Galactic, founded by Virgin CEO Richard Branson. Branson has announced that Virgin Galactic will be conducting test flights throughout 2018, with the aim for the first commercial flight to launch before the end of the year! However, don’t get your hopes up just yet as Branson has had to announce several delays since his initial planned launch almost 10 years ago. So expect setbacks, but the commercial space travel is definitely on the horizon.

How much will a ticket to space cost?

The short answer? $250’000, as well as a $20’000 deposit to reserve the seat. But here is the good news...your kidneys are worth around $262’000 each! So as long as Virgin don’t introduce a policy that you need both kidneys to fly, nothing will be able to stop you from making it to space!

Many famous celebs have already purchased their tickets, such as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Katy Perry, Tom Hanks, Bryan Singer, Justin Bieber and many more. So you might even have some A-lister company on your journey! Each trip will take 6 passengers, so you will have plenty of opportunity to meet the stars among the stars.

A final thought to consider

A trip to space is a very physically and mentally demanding experience, astronauts undergo years of training in preparation for launching into space. However, the first passengers with Virgin galactic are unlikely to do so, leaving us to question if regular people will be able to handle the experience. No matter how these first test flights go, it seems to be humanity’s destiny to explore the stars. Hopefully one day a trip from Earth to Mars will seem as Natural as London to New York. With several of the world most influential companies working towards this goal (Virgin, SpaceX, Blue Origin etc.), the future of space travel is definitely bright.

[Image retrieved from - https://www.quora.com/How-is-a-zero-gravity-environment-created-for-astronauts-training-on-earth-Is-the-zero-gravity-situation-produced-using-the-concept-of-free-fall-or-does-another-method-exist-for-it] 

A little about us

At Flight delayed, we specialise in helping delayed passengers receive their compensation under EU regulations. While there is currently no regulation in place for commercial flight to space, we are here to help if you have had a recent flight delay! Use our free flight checker to see if you are entitled to compensation (up to EUR600 per passenger)! Or if you simply enjoyed the article feel free to check out some of our other posts on our website!