Want to Be an Astronaut? Get Ready to Take Advantage of America’s Private Space Boom

A Falcon 9 rocket is readied before launch on NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission to take four crew members to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2023. Joe Skipper/Reuters

Tickets are on sale now for a ride to space aboard Sir Richard Branson’s “spaceline,” Virgin Galactic. The starting price? $450,000.

Nearly two years after the historic flight that earned its founder his astronaut wings, the company revealed plans to launch its first two commercial spaceflights. The company also opened ticket sales for seats aboard the Virgin Space Ship (VSS) Unity, which will blast off from its base in New Mexico.