Research Overview

The successful space flights conducted by Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin in July 2021 mark the beginning of commercial services for sub-orbital space tourism. Hundreds of people have pre-booked sub-orbital flights, which indicates demand for the service. However, despite being operational, the actual demand that could materialize will depend on the ability of service providers to increase launch frequency and flight slot availability for customers. Balloon-based platforms are the closest to being operational in the short term. These players are targeting not only tourists but events, such as weddings, as well. In addition, the ticket price is lower than that of other launch platform options, thus increasing the total target market for these service providers.

In contrast, the key customers for orbital human spaceflights are governments as they continue to send astronauts to the international space station. Orbital space tourism will have fewer passengers due to the high ticket price of about $55 million. SpaceX’s launch of the first civilian crew marks the commercialization of orbital space tourism. Axiom Space has booked multiple flights for tourists and private astronauts that will take place in the next few years. Space Adventures, a space tourism broker, has purchased multiple flights on Soyuz (launch service provider). Commercial space stations are the next opportunity with players such as Axiom Space, in which orbital assembly will focus on the development of orbiting platforms. These platforms will encourage in-orbit research for scientists and engineers in the private sector. In addition, the opportunity for short-stay in-orbit tourism will increase opportunities for space transportation to serve space tourists.

This report covers the global sub-orbital and orbital space tourism market. It profiles key players and their current stage of technology development. The report assesses the opportunity for sub-orbital and orbital space tourism in terms of number of passengers (PAX) and revenue forecasts from 2021 to 2030.