Let’s start with the bucket-list trip: a few minutes of weightlessness and a view of Earth’s curve. Virgin Galactic currently sells a ticket for around $450,000. Yes, that’s the price of a small house in Ohio, but you get to float around like a confused soap bubble. For that cash, you could also buy 327,000 McChicken sandwiches, but the sandwiches won’t make you look cool at a cocktail party.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard is in a similar league, with seats reportedly costing between $250,000 and $500,000. That’s not a typo. You pay the price of a luxury car to ride a glorified elevator that goes straight up and then comes straight down. No pilot’s license required, just a thick wallet and a strong stomach.
