Blue horizon launch11/22/2023 ![]() “It’s not only the amount of money available. In space tourism, Davis added, customers tend to be willing to pay a significant premium in exchange for a coveted experience. “In a very basic sense, something is worth what someone will pay for it.” The practice is commonplace in luxury goods and services where demand exceeds supply, said Nick Davis, founder of Instajet, a private jet charter service. In the U.S., price discrimination is legal as long as it’s not based on a prohibitive basis, such as race, ethnicity, gender, or religion. The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates the commercial human spaceflight, doesn’t have any rules around how much a company can charge its passengers or whether they can customize pricing. “It sounds as though they don’t want to say what their price is so that they can tailor it to how much you are worth, and you still feel like you get a good deal because you are paying less than the person who bought the first seat through the auction,” said Chrisman of the Foundation for the Future. In June 2021, Blue Origin’s nonprofit branch, Club for the Future, donated $1 million to Space for Humanity with money from the auction proceeds from Blue Origin’s maiden flight. Space for Humanity declined to disclose how much Echazarreta’s ticket cost, but said it paid with the support of former New Shepard passengers. Katya Echazarreta, a 26-year-old electrical engineer who hosts a science show on YouTube, flew on a June 4 flight paid for by Space for Humanity, a nonprofit founded by Dylan Taylor, an investor who flew on a New Shepard mission in December 2021. Some didn’t pay Blue Origin directly but had sponsors cover the cost. Several passengers paid nothing, flying as Blue Origin’s “honorable guests.” That included aviation pioneer Wally Funk, Star Trek actor William Shatner, former football star Michael Strahan, and Laura Shepard Churchley, the daughter of astronaut Alan Shepard (after whom Blue Origin named its rocket). The passenger is a board member of the nonprofit, Chrisman said. But a passenger who is scheduled to fly this December paid only $1 million for his seat, according to Tim Chrisman, a former CIA officer and the cofounder of the Foundation for the Future, a nonprofit advocating for infrastructure development in space. After the winner said he couldn’t make the trip due to a schedule conflict, the seat was sold to the second highest bidder, who reportedly paid nearly as much. In June 2021, Blue Origin auctioned off a seat on its maiden flight for $28 million-more than 100 times what Virgin Galactic charges for a similar experience. Blue Origin ticket ranges from zero to $28 million Even the most out-of-reach space experience has a price tag: Axiom Space, a Texas startup, is marketing a 10-day trip to the International Space for $55 million. Space Perspective charges $125,000 per person on a six-hour journey to the stratosphere in a balloon-borne pressurized capsule. Virgin Galactic sells a 90-minute ride to suborbital space for $450,000 per seat. Most of Blue Origin’s competitors follow a simpler approach. Blue Origin declined to discuss its pricing strategy. It’s kind of a package deal,” said Roman Chiporukha, cofounder of SpaceVIP, a platform that helps the wealthy book space trips, including Blue Origin’s. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday.“It’s not about money it’s about who you are, your social capital, whether you align with their launch purposes. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015 her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Her latest book, " Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. ![]() She was contributing writer for for 10 years before joining full-time. ![]() Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. ![]()
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