Space Tourism Operators 2026: Who Is Actually Flying, and What a Seat Costs
Six companies will sell you a seat to the edge of space. In September 2026 not one of them is flying paying passengers. Here is what each vehicle does, what a seat costs, and where every programme actually stands.
In this guide
Six operators, and the state of each
Every status line below was checked against the company's own site or a named report on 14 September 2026. Prices are what the operator publishes or, where it does not, what has been reported and by whom. Each name links to the operator.
| Operator | Vehicle and flight | Seat price | Status, September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Origin · New ShepardRocket · Van Horn, Texas | Reusable suborbital rocket and capsule; 6 seats; about 107 km on the last flight; roughly 10 minutes | Never published. Third-party estimates run from US$150,000 upward | Paused. On 30 January 2026 the company halted New Shepard for at least two years to focus on its lunar lander. 38 flights, 98 people above the Kármán line, last flight 22 January 2026 |
| Virgin Galactic · Delta classRocket-powered spaceplane · Spaceport America, New Mexico | Air-launched spaceplane; 6 passengers; about 85–90 km on the earlier Unity flights; roughly 90 minutes door to door | US$750,000 a seat in the latest, now-closed tranche; the next tranche is to be priced higher | Not flying. Last commercial flight June 2024. First Delta-class commercial flight pushed from late 2026 to February 2027, announced 13 August 2026 |
| Space Perspective · Spaceship NeptuneStratospheric balloon · Florida (was) | Pressurised capsule under a hydrogen balloon; 8 guests and a captain; about 30 km; six hours | US$125,000 with a US$1,000 deposit, as sold before the collapse | Collapsed and acquired. Staff furloughed January 2025, evicted from its Florida site, bought by Madrid-based Eos X Space in July 2025. One uncrewed test flight; no passenger has flown; no date |
| World View · ExplorerStratospheric balloon · Arizona | Balloon capsule; about 30 km; six to eight hours | US$50,000 announced in 2021 | Dormant. The company site now sells remote sensing and defence services; no tourism dates or pricing are published |
| Zephalto · CélesteStratospheric balloon · France | Balloon capsule; 4–6 guests plus pilots; 25 km; six hours with three at altitude | €180,000 with a 20 per cent deposit | Pre-commercial. No crewed flight confirmed and no first-flight date on the company's site |
| Halo Space · AuroraStratospheric balloon · Spain, Saudi Arabia, India | Balloon capsule; more than 30 km (uncrewed tests reached 37 km); up to six hours | Not disclosed; about US$164,000 reported in 2024 | Pre-commercial. Uncrewed tests continue through 2026; crewed tests now scheduled for late 2027, so the earlier 2026 commercial target has slipped |
No operator on this page has paid to appear. Placement on this publication's comparison pages is labelled where it applies.
Read the last column first. Of six companies selling the view from the edge of space, two have carried passengers and neither is flying this year; the other four have never carried anyone. Deposits are being taken across the category for flights whose dates range from February 2027 to undefined. Space.com's report on the Virgin Galactic delay and Blue Origin's own pause announcement are the two documents that define the market right now.
How high, and why it changes the price
The category is really two products. Rockets and spaceplanes buy a few minutes above 85 km, weightlessness and a black sky, and the price starts at three-quarters of a million dollars. Balloons buy several hours at 25 to 37 km, in a pressurised lounge, with a curved horizon under a dark-blue sky; they cost a fifth to a tenth as much and involve no g-forces, no training and no medical bar. Neither balloon product has flown a customer, which is the part the brochures do not lead with.
Operator by operator
Blue Origin
The only company with a substantial passenger record: 38 New Shepard flights, 98 people above 100 km, six at a time, in a fully automated capsule launched from West Texas. It has also never published a price, selling seats by private negotiation and, at the start, by auction. The programme flew six crewed missions in 2025 and one in January 2026 before the two-year pause. Anyone holding a deposit is holding a place in a queue with no restart date.
Virgin Galactic
Seven commercial missions on VSS Unity in 2023 and 2024, then a planned gap while the Delta-class ships were built. The company's pre-flight programme runs several days at Spaceport America with optional centrifuge and zero-g flights; it states there is no upper age limit and asks for a questionnaire and a final check-up rather than a medical standard. At US$750,000 a seat it is the most expensive ticket here and the only one with a fatal accident in its history: the 2014 loss of VSS Enterprise, which the NTSB attributed to a premature unlock of the feathering system. The relevant fact for a buyer is the date: February 2027, moved once already.
Space Perspective, World View, Zephalto and Halo Space
The balloon field promised the accessible version of the view and has so far delivered a cautionary tale. Space Perspective was the best funded and best marketed, sold roughly 1,800 tickets, and folded before a single passenger flew; its new Spanish owner has announced nothing. World View, the Arizona pioneer, has quietly become a remote-sensing company. That leaves two European hopefuls. Zephalto publishes the clearest terms in the category, €180,000 with a 20 per cent deposit and no medical or age restriction, but no flight date. Halo Space has flown the most tests, from India, Mojave and Saudi Arabia, and has been the most honest about its schedule: crewed tests in late 2027, which puts commercial flights no earlier than 2028.
If you are holding a deposit, or thinking about one
- The only bookable flight with a date and a flown vehicle type: Virgin Galactic, February 2027, at a price the company says will exceed US$750,000. Treat the date as provisional; it has moved once.
- The best passenger record: Blue Origin, but with no flights before 2028 at the earliest and no price.
- The cheapest published ticket with clear terms: Zephalto at €180,000, on a vehicle that has not yet carried a crew.
- Refund terms matter more than the view. What happened to Space Perspective's roughly 1,800 reservations in the sale has not been made public. Before paying anything, get the refund clause in writing and check whether it survives an acquisition.
- For a view of the curvature this decade with a certain date: a high-altitude flight is not the only route. The northern lights and Antarctica are both bookable for 2027 with operators that have carried thousands of people.
The honest caveat: this is the one category on this site where the ranking is not who is best but who exists. Every company here is selling a product it is not currently delivering. That will change; the table above will be updated as it does, and the date at the top of the page tells you how current it is.
Questions readers ask
Can you book a space tourism flight in 2026?
You can pay a deposit, but nobody is flying paying passengers in September 2026. Blue Origin paused New Shepard in January 2026 for at least two years; Virgin Galactic's next commercial flight is scheduled for February 2027; Space Perspective collapsed and was acquired without flying anyone; World View is dormant; Zephalto and Halo Space have not flown a crew.
How much does a seat to space cost?
Virgin Galactic's last tranche sold at US$750,000 a seat and the next will be higher. Blue Origin has never published a price. The balloon operators are cheaper because they go a third as high: Zephalto lists €180,000, Halo Space was reported at about US$164,000, Space Perspective sold at US$125,000 and World View announced US$50,000.
What is the difference between a rocket flight and a balloon flight?
A rocket or spaceplane crosses the Kármán line at 100 kilometres for a few minutes of weightlessness: Blue Origin reached 107 km, Virgin Galactic about 85 to 90 km. A stratospheric balloon rises to 25 to 37 km over several hours with no weightlessness, no g-forces and a curved-horizon view; it is a high-altitude flight, not spaceflight.
Has Virgin Galactic resumed flights?
No. Its last commercial flight was in June 2024. The new Delta-class spaceplanes were due to start commercial service in late 2026; on 13 August 2026 the company moved the first commercial flight to February 2027, with a second ship following in March.
Why did Blue Origin stop New Shepard?
On 30 January 2026 Blue Origin announced a pause of no less than two years to redirect the programme's resources to its lunar lander work. New Shepard had flown 38 missions and carried 98 people above the Kármán line; the last flight was on 22 January 2026.
Is space tourism safe?
The record is short. Virgin Galactic lost a test pilot when SpaceShipTwo broke up over Mojave in October 2014; the NTSB found the feathering system was unlocked early. Blue Origin has flown 98 passengers without injury. No balloon operator has yet carried a paying customer, so there is no passenger safety record to assess.
What happened to Space Perspective?
It sold around 1,800 tickets at US$125,000, flew one uncrewed test in September 2024, furloughed its staff in January 2025, lost its Florida facilities and was acquired by Eos X Space of Madrid in July 2025. No new flight date has been published.
Status, prices and altitudes were taken from company sites and named reports on 14 September 2026 and will change. Booking.com, GetTransfer and Airalo links are affiliate links and are marked as such; no operator on this page has paid for inclusion. See the disclosure page.