You Can Now Book Your Flight to Space

In July 2022, the world watched as Sir Richard Branson launched into space—or at least to the edge of it—in Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo spaceplane. Now it’s your turn.

The private spaceflight company, which was founded by Branson, has just opened bookings for suborbital flights to the general public. The cost of a ticket? A casual $450,000. That purchase gets you a 90-minute, rocket-powered flight to an altitude of 50-plus miles, where you’ll hang in weightlessness for a few minutes before returning to Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport America in New Mexico.

After placing a down payment of $150,000, space travelers will receive access to Virgin Galactic’s Future Astronaut membership community, which includes space-themed events, trips, and educational programs to excite them about their spaceflights. New customers will join the 600 people who purchased tickets during the initial sales push about a decade ago, plus another 100 who placed down payments during last year’s sales window.

The rest of the ticket price is due before the flight, though the timing of passenger flights is still a bit murky. Virgin Galactic has delayed its commercial operations numerous times—most recently last September when a structural defect was discovered in the SpaceShipTwo spaceplane. The company does, however, expect to resume flights by the end of this year.

“At Virgin Galactic, we believe that space is transformational,” Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in a statement. “We plan to have our first 1,000 customers on board at the start of commercial service later this year, providing an incredibly strong foundation as we begin regular operations and scale our fleet.”

If you’re ready to book your flight to space, you can head to Virgin Galactic’s website to fill out an application.