In an exciting leap for commercial space travel, Chinese startup Deep Blue Aerospace announced its ambitious plan to launch a suborbital manned spacecraft by 2027. The company revealed its vision during a live-streamed event on China's popular e-commerce platform, Taobao, where the first two tickets sold out within moments.
The suborbital journey is priced at 1.5 million yuan (approximately $210,500) for a round trip, with a deposit of 50,000 yuan. During the event, Deep Blue Aerospace offered a discount of 500,000 yuan on each order, sparking significant interest among space enthusiasts. Additional tickets are scheduled to go on sale next month.
The spacecraft, set to be launched by the company's reusable rocket Nebula-1, is designed to carry six passengers to a maximum altitude of 100 to 150 kilometers. This trajectory allows the spacecraft to cross the Karman line, the internationally recognized boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space.
Passengers will experience approximately five minutes of weightlessness during the 12-minute flight, before safely returning to Earth using a parachute system. Huo Liang, CEO of Deep Blue Aerospace, emphasized the importance of reusable rockets in reducing launch costs. With ongoing advancements in this technology, Huo anticipates that the price of space travel could decrease to "hundreds of thousands of yuan."
The company has embarked on a three-year pre-sale phase, prioritizing safety above all. During this period, Deep Blue Aerospace will focus on technology development, rigorous testing, and performance optimization to ensure the highest safety standards. Huo Liang affirmed, \"Human life is of utmost importance, and we are committed to ensuring that everyone returns safely.\" He also revealed that the spacecraft will undergo hundreds of tests before its maiden flight, and he plans to be one of the first passengers.
The commercial space travel industry is rapidly evolving, with leaders like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic paving the way. Within China, other companies such as Beijing-based CAS Space have also announced plans to enter the space tourism market, aiming to launch their first space travel vehicle in 2027 and commence manned travel to the edge of space by 2028.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
