Prices for tickets to space likely to go down

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is one of their passengers and fly around the moon in a SpaceX flight.

Can't afford to pay $250,000 for a seat on Virgin Galactic's sub-orbital flight? There's a possibility that prices will go down a few years down the line, experts have insisted.
Dr Minoo Rathnasabapathy, a research engineer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Global Space Congress that access to space could become "more feasible" as more private companies invest into space-related activities.
Space tourism flights come at a hefty price tag, with the lowest price starting at $250,000 on a Virgin Galactic Flight. Tickets for SpaceX flights have rumoured to cost millions. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is one of their passengers and fly around the moon in a SpaceX flight. The first commercial space astronaut paid around $20 million to fly to the International Space Station in 2001.
Though, as more private companies and start-ups invest in space infrastructure and other space-related programmes, experts predict it will bring down the cost.
"What we're seeing is that with affordable access to space, emerging space nations as well as new entrances into the private sector are developing their space capabilities but also opening new markets, both regionally and on a global scale," Dr Rathnasabapathy said. "Now that there are lower barriers to accessing space, what we're seeing is governments are finding it easier to make that initial investment in space infrastructure. With that initial investment, there is also a lot of capacity building that needs to happen within the country. Governments are investing in space infrastructure and that is going to help making space and innovation more feasible on a global scale."
Salem Al Marri, assistant director-general of technical and scientific affairs at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, told Khaleej Times previously that prices could likely come down in the next 15 years.
"I believe as more and more commercial companies enter the market, prices will come down and it will be more accessible. Starting with suborbital flights first, I think, they could become more accessible but costly in the coming 15 years. With regards to orbital flights, pricing will remain high for a while due to technology constraints and dangers of orbital flights," he said.
sarwat@khaleejtimes.com