On April 14, Katy Perry and Gayle King participated in a historic flight as part of an all-female crew, embarking on an 11-minute journey into space aboard a rocket from Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.
Upon their return to Earth in Texas, Lauren Sánchez, who is engaged to Bezos and also took part in the flight, described the adventure as ‘profound’.
Gayle King shared that the experience left her feeling empowered, saying she felt like she could ‘do anything’. Meanwhile, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen characterized her moments in the capsule as a ‘phenomenal dream’.
The enthusiastic responses from the Blue Origin crew highlight just how exhilarating a trip to space can be. But how much would it cost for someone else to enjoy such a journey?
It’s not difficult to guess that this kind of travel isn’t exactly budget-friendly.
While the exact amount Perry and her fellow travelers paid to secure their seats on the New Shepherd rocket isn’t disclosed, prospective space tourists need to have a considerable amount of funds set aside, as the deposit alone is substantial.
According to Blue Origin’s website, those interested in booking a seat are required to commit to a $150,000 deposit.
Deposits usually represent just a fraction of the final price, so it’s likely that the total expense reaches into the millions.
The first ticket sold for a Blue Origin flight was auctioned for an astounding $28 million, won by one of 7,600 bidders from 159 nations.
For those who aren’t deterred by such figures, Pocketmags estimates that the average cost of a seat in space ranges from $64 million to $88 million. This amount might be manageable for someone like Bezos, whose net worth is reported by Forbes to be $198 billion, but for most people, it’s far beyond reach.
Nonetheless, with the rapid advancements in space travel over recent decades, it’s quite plausible that more affordable space trips could become accessible in the future.
When questioned about the potential for space flights to become as routine as commercial air travel, Sánchez, Bezos’ fiancé, expressed optimism: “I know Jeff [Bezos] and I know Blue Origin. Blue Origin is building the road to space.”