Luxury Lift-off: The Rise of Space Tourism with Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos
Posted by Matthew James on
Space tourism, which refers to traveling to space for leisure, is gaining attention as tourists seek out unique and undiscovered experiences. With two of the world's wealthiest individuals, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, invested in the concept, major developments are underway. Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, and Blue Origin are all working towards the goal of transporting people into space.
Recently, Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, launched and landed its New Shepard vehicle on a mission. While a date for human flights has not been set, the company expects them to take place in 2021 with room for up to six passengers. Virgin Galactic has already sold more than 100 tickets, with deposits starting at $200,000, to high-profile individuals including Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Justin Bieber.
However, not all space tourism companies have been successful. The Galactic Suite Space Resort and companies like XCOR Aerospace and Golden Spike have all ceased operations due to financial difficulties and criticism.
Despite these setbacks, the involvement of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos demonstrates the potential for space tourism to become a reality in the near future, due to their significant investment in the field. The concept of space tourism could take off sooner than expected.