The most expensive trip on China's largest travel website now lasts 90 minutes. Trip.com is selling a six-day space tourism package for 5.1 million yuan, about $760,000.
The offer comes from HHtravel, Trip.com's luxury travel brand. Passengers spend four days training in the United States, then board a Virgin Galactic flight from New Mexico on day five. The flight is suborbital: it reaches space but does not circle Earth. For several minutes, people on board will float, and they can look at the planet through 17 windows.
The 5.1 million yuan covers training, transport and lodging during those days in the U.S., a spacesuit, badges and videos. Flights to the United States, visas and personal insurance are not included.
Two customers have booked the package since the 2027 program went on sale, according to the South China Morning Post. It is the most expensive space tourism product on sale in China.
Before takeoff, passengers train on simulators. They practice the heavy push of a fast climb, a short feeling of floating, and how to use the equipment on board.
Not everyone is cheering. Some people are excited that a travel website now sells seats to space. Others ask whether the trip is worth the cost, and whether commercial spaceflight will be ready by 2027. Professional astronauts, they point out, train for much longer than four days.
Virgin Galactic opened 50 seats in April at $750,000 each. By August 12, more people had asked for a seat than the company had to sell, adding more than $50 million in expected future flight revenue.
China has not yet run a commercial space tourism flight, and the year on this ticket is still 2027. This package shows how far travel companies are stretching the meaning of a holiday. For most customers, a trip still begins with a hotel and a plane ticket. For a small number of future travelers, the next item on the booking page may be a few minutes of weightlessness.