Chinese commercial space company CAS Space has announced plans for its “space tourism vehicle” to first fly in 2027, with trips to the edge of space beginning in 2028, according to state media reports on Friday.
This announcement follows shortly after Blue Origin, backed by Jeff Bezos, revealed that its New Shepard Rocket, which carries cargo and passengers on short trips to the edge of space, would resume flights on Sunday after nearly a two-year hiatus in crewed operations.
CAS Space stated that its vehicle will feature a tourist cabin with four panoramic windows and can accommodate seven passengers per flight.
The company intends to schedule launches every 100 hours from a newly constructed aerospace theme park, utilizing ten vehicles to take tourists to the edge of space in shifts.
Tickets are expected to cost between 2 million to 3 million yuan ($415,127) per person, as reported by state media.
Founded in 2018 and based in Guangzhou, CAS Space’s second-largest shareholder is the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the country’s leading state research institute.
China’s space exploration program has recently made significant strides, closing the gap with the United States.
Notably, China launched the Chang’e-6 mission earlier this month, which could make it the first country to return samples from the far side of the moon.
This launch drew a large number of tourists to the launch site on Hainan Island, with tens of thousands of people gathering at various viewing spots, leading to substantial traffic jams before the blast-off.
Source-Reuters
