Chinese company Deep Blue Aerospace has started selling tickets for flights into space. Its vehicles are expected to start making suborbital flights from 2027.
Sales of tickets for space flights
On Thursday, the Chinese company opened the sale of two tickets for a commercial spaceflight planned for 2027.
The tickets, sold by Deep Blue Aerospace, cost 1.5 million yuan ($211,000) and are for seats on the suborbital flight, during which passengers will be weightless for five minutes.
They will be on sale at 6 p.m. local time (10 a.m. GMT) on Thursday during an online shopping event hosted by company founder Huo Liang, Deep Blue said via its WeChat account.
Customers are required to pay a deposit of 50,000 yuan to book tickets.
China’s commercial sector
Deep Blue Aerospace is a leader in China’s growing commercial space sector, which Beijing hopes will catch up with rivals such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
According to state media, China has 26 commercial launches in 2023, including LandSpace’s Zhuque-2 rocket, the world’s first methane-fueled rocket.
Deep Blue Aerospace said it planned to develop reusable rocket technology to reduce costs.
Suborbital space flight
The 2027 mission will be suborbital, meaning passengers will reach space but not enter orbit. According to the company, the spacecraft will stay in space for about 12 minutes.
In recent years, many companies have entered China’s commercial space industry. CAS Space announced in May that it would launch space tourism flights in China in 2028.
Beijing has its own ambitious official space program, with plans to conduct a manned mission to the Moon and build a base there by 2030.
Provided by phys.org
