Recently, Beijing Transporter Manned Space Technology Co., Ltd. announced that young actor Huang Jingyu has become the company's "Space Tourist No. 009," drawing sustained public attention. According to reports, the company plans to launch a manned flight mission in 2028 and has already begun pre-selling tickets, with a single space tourism ticket priced at 3 million yuan. More than ten "space tourists" from fields including academia, business, aerospace, arts, and entertainment have already paid and signed contracts.
Previously, Deep Blue Aerospace announced plans to commence space tourism in 2027, with each ticket priced at 1.5 million yuan. "The two pre-sale spacecraft tickets have already been booked," a relevant Deep Blue Aerospace official revealed, adding, "After the Spring Festival, our rocket will conduct its maiden flight, achieve orbit, and be recovered; this year we are solidly focused on technological experiments."
"As one of the earlier entities to engage in space tourism research and technology accumulation, CAS Space announced the launch of its space tourism plan back in 2022, signed cooperation agreements with relevant tourism agencies, and took the lead in conducting demonstration and design for reusable launch vehicles (such as the LiJian-2) and suborbital LiHong series aircraft. The technology is now relatively mature," Yang Yiqiang, founder and chairman of CAS Space, explained.
"Space tourism might achieve regular flight operations in the future." How are ticket prices determined? The "National Aerospace Administration's Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality and Safe Development of Commercial Space (2025-2027)" points out the need to accelerate the formation of new, quality productive forces in aerospace, support commercial space entities in developing and utilizing space resources—including space tourism—strengthen original innovation and R&D in key core technologies, innovate business models, and develop emerging formats.
In recent years, China's commercial aerospace technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. The curtain on space tourism has quietly risen, with several aerospace companies successively announcing plans to achieve suborbital manned flight around 2027/2028, realizing the dream of space travel for ordinary people. This timeline not only indicates that China's space tourism is step by step approaching reality but also reflects that China's commercial aerospace is accelerating its integration into the global space economy competition landscape through "staged leaps."
On January 29, the Commercial Spacecraft and Application Industry Chain Co-Chain Action Conference emphasized that China will layout more "space+" future industries, including implementing a future industry development cultivation project covering space traffic management and space tourism. Regarding space tourism, efforts will focus on accelerating the iterative development of suborbital and orbital space tourism aircraft products, completing relevant unmanned or manned flight verification, establishing a sound space tourism operation system, achieving regular flight operations for suborbital space tourism, and gradually developing orbital space tourism.
The CCID Think Tank under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology predicts that by 2030, the global space tourism market size is expected to reach $300 billion, with China potentially accounting for over 30% of that share.
"Currently, China's space tourism is still in the 'technology verification and concept pre-sale stage.' Key aspects of commercial aerospace, especially rocket recovery technology, policy, safety, return, and business models, all require further improvement, verification, and cost reduction," Wang Junyi, a member of the Youth Work Committee for Space Culture Communication of the China Science and Technology News Society (Space Youth Committee), told Guancha.cn. Regarding the current pricing strategies for space tickets announced by domestic commercial aerospace companies, these are primarily based on comprehensive considerations of market potential, cost structure, and industry benchmarking.
Yang Yiqiang pointed out that, concerning price, companies are currently in a preliminary estimation stage. The significant price differences likely relate to the number of rocket launch and recovery cycles and the specific launch technology solution. For instance, if a rocket can be recovered and reused ten times, that dictates one price point; if it can be reused twenty times, that's another.
"Currently, none of China's commercial aerospace companies have officially conducted manned flights. CAS Space has made some attempts and has relatively richer technical accumulation. Based on our calculations, if a rocket can be recovered and reused thirty times, the price of a future space tourism ticket could potentially drop below 1 million yuan, possibly even to 300,000 to 500,000 yuan. Of course, this still depends on the future rocket recovery rate, meaning the number of times the launch vehicle and space capsule can be reused," Yang Yiqiang said. "In the next five years, space tourism is likely to enter a developmental stage characterized by normalized advancement. One could even say that in the foreseeable future, regular flight operations for space tourism are a possibility."
Easier than going to Tibet? "Ordinary people in good health can complete a space journey without any problem." From concept to inception, from an exclusive privilege for the wealthy to a dream for the masses, commercial aerospace and space tourism have become a reality worldwide.
According to an AP report, in 2023, Virgin Galactic conducted its first space tourist flight mission. The passengers included an 80-year-old former British canoeist, Goodwin, and a mother-daughter pair from the Caribbean. Goodwin was among the earliest batch of ticket purchasers back in 2005, when the price was $200,000; it rose to $450,000 in 2023 and is set at $600,000 per ticket for 2026.
The report stated that once the spacecraft reached the edge of space, about 100 kilometers from Earth, passengers could unbuckle their seatbelts, float briefly inside the cabin for a few minutes, enjoy a panoramic view of Earth through the windows, and then return with the spacecraft, ultimately landing smoothly on a runway via parachute.
According to a report on Space.com on January 23, Blue Origin, founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, successfully executed its 17th manned space mission on January 22. This flight took six passengers into suborbital space, crossing the Kármán line that marks the boundary of space, fulfilling their space travel vision.
The report mentioned that these six passengers experienced several minutes of weightlessness in space and witnessed the spectacular sight of Earth suspended in the dark cosmos. Recently, Blue Origin announced it would suspend suborbital flights of its New Shepard vehicle for a period of not less than two years, reallocating human and technical resources to fully accelerate the advancement of its lunar manned flight plan.
"The space tourism currently discussed by domestic commercial aerospace companies mainly refers to suborbital flight. This involves the spacecraft following a near-vertical parabolic trajectory, rather than an Earth-orbiting flight. The flight altitude approaches or exceeds the Kármán line (100 km altitude), known as the boundary between aviation and space," Wang Junyi said.
"There is no authoritative definition for space tourism broadly speaking, it refers to commercial activities that provide consumers with direct or indirect travel to space for short stays or brief residence before returning to Earth," Yang Yiqiang stated. "I previously categorized space tourism into three types: one is suborbital flight crossing the Kármán line with a short stay of about ten minutes, offering roughly five minutes of suborbital weightlessness; another is flight along Earth orbit, entering a space station like astronauts; and a third type is travel to destinations in Earth orbit, such as Mars or the Moon."
Regarding the preparations needed for ordinary people to undertake space tourism (such as certain intensity of adaptive training), Yang Yiqiang said, "As long as one doesn't have chronic diseases like cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases, it should be basically fine. The general public can adapt; it might even require fewer precautions than a trip to Tibet or a journey on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway."
"Of course, necessary safety training and physical conditioning are still required to maintain physiological and psychological adaptability under conditions of gravity and weightlessness," Yang Yiqiang added.
Wang Junyi explained that in commercial space activities, different missions have varying requirements for qualities and abilities, and thus the training content differs accordingly. For ordinary space tourists, the related training and its intensity are not as high as one might imagine. Many space tourists abroad are elderly individuals in their sixties and seventies. Therefore, ordinary people in good health can complete a space journey without any problem.
"Reducing costs, ensuring safety: we are tackling the technical challenges." Relevant information shows that in late December last year, China formally submitted an application to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for frequency and orbital resources for an additional 203,000 satellites (operating on a 'first-come, first-served' basis to reserve space for future large-scale constellations), covering 14 satellite constellations, including low and medium Earth orbit satellites. Statistics indicate this is currently China's largest single international frequency and orbit filing action, signifying that China's commercial aerospace sector has hit the "accelerator."
Data shows that in 2025, China conducted 92 rocket launches, of which 49 were commercial launches. By the end of 2025, the number of operational commercial satellites in China was about 800, with 303 of those launched in 2025.
"China's commercial aerospace has officially entered an era of high-frequency launches," Yang Yiqiang stated. He mentioned that on January 12 this year, the CAS Space LiHong-1 Yao-1 vehicle successfully completed a suborbital flight test mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, with the returnable payload capsule landing safely via a parachute system and being recovered. The maiden flight carried a microgravity laser additive manufacturing returnable scientific experiment payload, as well as Nanyang rose seeds and the "first space passenger," a Pop Mart SPACE MOLLY doll.
"The scientific significance of carrying the Nanyang rose seeds is to induce genetic mutation through space radiation to cultivate new plant varieties. Carrying the 'first space passenger' SPACE MOLLY doll is more about publicizing space tourism to the public, using a well-known pop culture brand image for cultural and scientific popularization," Yang Yiqiang said.
Yang Yiqiang pointed out that this flight test successfully completed the verification of atmospheric re-entry, deceleration, and recovery for the returnable payload capsule. It also involved testing precise landing point control technology for the vehicle's stage return, achieving a landing accuracy at the hundred-meter level over a 100-kilometer return distance. This marks the transition of space manufacturing from "proof of concept" to "engineering verification," laying a technical foundation for future space manufacturing, experiments, medicine, and tourism.
Wang Junyi stated that the launch and return of manned spacecraft are two critical technologies that determine whether this industry can exist, with return involving more uncertainties. Furthermore, the cabin environment is crucial, referred to by the technical term "Environmental Control and Life Support System" (ECLSS).
Wang Junyi emphasized: "In the confined space of a spacecraft, controlling carbon dioxide concentration is an extremely important aspect, especially in the context of orbital-level space travel. The 'Environmental Control and Life Support System' controls the cabin's temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, and oxygen levels, serving as a vital safeguard for passengers' life, health, and safety."
"In terms of manned spaceflight, the technology of China's national aerospace team is very mature. However, for commercial operations, we cannot simply copy the national team's approach. Commercial aerospace must find technological and experiential pathways suitable for space tourism, manned launches, and returns. This requires exploration and verification. Currently, due to various factors including the level of technological development and regulatory limitations, China has not yet conducted re-entry return technology verification (re-entering the atmosphere) for commercial manned spacecraft," Wang Junyi said. "Additionally, space tourism faces more challenges related to business models and policy aspects, such as laws and regulations."
"Currently, space tourism faces two core technical points: first, how to industrialize and commercialize these technologies, particularly reducing costs; recovery technology itself is mature, but the cost is too high, and we are currently tackling the challenge of reducing recovery costs. The second is safety, for instance, how passengers can safely escape if a vehicle malfunctions during flight. Similar tests have been conducted abroad, and we are also conducting technical experiments in this area," Yang Yiqiang said.
Wang Tianxing, Deputy Director of the Cultural Tourism Policy and Law Center at Beijing International Studies University, told Guancha.cn that space tourism, as an emerging form of tourism and a cutting-edge product, will inevitably require continuous observation and practice from its inception and exploration to maturity. After all, as a entirely new field, key aspects such as safety guarantees, operational models, pricing mechanisms, and service standards are still in the exploratory phase and need continuous refinement and improvement.
Wang Tianxing suggested that to promote the healthy and orderly development of China's space tourism, Chinese companies intending to enter this field should collaborate with professional insurance companies to jointly develop exclusive insurance products tailored to the risk characteristics of space travel, while reasonably controlling premium costs alongside ensuring coverage. Simultaneously, they should strengthen public communication and science popularization, proactively address societal concerns, effectively alleviate public doubts about the safety and feasibility of space tourism, thereby stimulating greater interest and confidence.
"I have great expectations and even greater blessings for the future of China's space tourism," Wang Tianxing said.
As safe and reliable as taking a flight? China's space tourism legislation work has begun. Multiple foreign media outlets, including Reuters and Singapore's The Straits Times, reported on January 29 that China's commercial aerospace pace has accelerated. Plans for space-based AI data centers, breakthroughs in suborbital space tourism technology, and the recently announced establishment of the Interstellar Travel Academy indicate that China's commercial aerospace sector will achieve leapfrog development in the next 10 to 20 years, and the landscape of world space exploration has already begun to be reshaped.
Yang Yiqiang stated that the Interstellar Travel Academy is a secondary college under the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Its establishment is a key measure in China's layout for talent cultivation in the aerospace field and will provide talent support for national space strategic needs.
The aforementioned foreign media reports mentioned that China's current focus is not only on rocket technology itself but also on simultaneously building the legal and safety infrastructure supporting commercial aerospace. Relevant Chinese departments have begun establishing strict safety standards and certification processes for commercial manned spacecraft, which is crucial for the space tourism industry – it must make people feel that riding a rocket is as safe and reliable as taking a commercial airliner.
According to a report titled "Development Ideas and Paths for Commercial Aerospace in the 16th Five-Year Plan Period" released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in April 2025, China's space tourism and commercial lunar exploration are expected to achieve policy breakthroughs within 5-10 years and move towards the experimental verification or initial commercial operation phase.
"At the level of the national aerospace team, relevant laws and regulations are already quite comprehensive, such as the Outer Space Treaty and the Rescue Agreement, which countries around the world sign. There is an obligation to rescue astronauts in case of trouble on the space station or during return; this is state behavior. However, in the field of commercial aerospace, there are no specific international treaties regulating space tourism; relevant laws and regulations are still a blank area," Yang Yiqiang said.
Yang Yiqiang pointed out that China's space tourism legislation work has begun but still faces numerous challenges. These include unresolved issues like the delimitation between airspace and outer space, leading to unclear scope for legal regulation and administrative supervision of space tourism, and ambiguous applicability of aviation law versus space law. Additionally, there is a lack of specific regulations for licensing systems, the legal status of space tourists is undefined, and the damage compensation liability system is imperfect.
Yang Yiqiang suggested that China's space tourism legislation could learn from effective foreign practices. Relevant national civil aerospace management agencies could first issue specific guidance on "suborbital flight management," granting enterprises a limited "learning period" under regulatory supervision to explore a separate licensing and approval system for space tourism, thereby protecting the industry in its initial stages.
"Furthermore, based on existing international treaties, China should continuously promote its commercial aerospace legislation. Following the principle of addressing urgent needs first, under the broader framework of China's 'Space Law,' relevant secondary legislation should be introduced to regulate the development of commercial aerospace activities," Yang Yiqiang emphasized. "Simultaneously, establish encouraging policies to guide, support, and regulate private enterprises' participation in space tourism; actively promote the construction of an industrial financial risk system, encourage the commercial insurance industry to add commercial insurance and third-party liability insurance, and continuously enhance safety guarantees and compensation capabilities related to space tourism and space passengers."