Skip to main content
Tech Radar TechRadar the technology experts
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
RSS
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of México
México
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
  • Phones
  • Computing
  • TVs
  • AI
  • Streaming
  • Health
  • Audio
  • VPN
  • More
    • Cameras
    • Home
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Opinion
    • How to
    • Versus
    • Deals
    • Coupons
    • Best
Tech Radar Pro
Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • Amazon Prime Day
  • Nintendo Switch 2
  • Best VPN
  • ChatGPT
  • Best web hosting
  • NYT Wordle today
  • Best laptop

Recommended reading

The Meta Quest 3 and controllers on their charging station which is itself on a wooden desk next to a lamp
Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality You might get a free Meta Quest 3 to use on your next flight, but I'm not keen on the advertising it'll serve you
A person wearing a Meta Quest 3 on a flight
Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality I took my Meta Quest 3 on a 3,000-mile flight so you don’t have to – here's what I learned
A phone showing the new Airbnb app, next to a photo of horseback riding through four hidden temples of the Inkas - Cusco, Peru - 2025 Summer Release
Software The Airbnb app just got a massive redesign – here are 3 new features to look out for
A crop of the Rosette nebula photographed with the ZWO Seestar S50 smart telescope and processed in Pixinsight
Cameras I spent a year with the $550 smart telescope that's shaking up the astrophotography world – and this is what it’s capable of
Hamish wearing his Xreal One glasses
Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality I always fly with a pair of AR glasses in my bag – here are 4 reasons you should too
An in-flight seatback screen with Spotify content next to a screen shot of a podcast page
Spotify Spotify fans just got another free in-flight upgrade, thanks to this Starlink and United Airlines collab
Two men in front of a map of Madeira with logos for different AI travel agents
Artificial Intelligence Can an AI travel agent remove the stress of vacation booking? I tried three to find out
  1. Tech

Space tourism: 10 ways to weightlessness

News
By Jamie Carter published 28 November 2015

Escape to the stars

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The new space race

The new space race

Losing weight is easy – all you need is the right altitude. Escaping the effects of the Earth's gravitational pull doesn't come cheap, but space tourism isn't just about Virgin Galactic. Sub-orbital space is the travel industry's next big destination, and achieving zero gravity is more competitive than you might think…

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo

Everyone has heard of Richard Branson's ambitious plans, but it's all gone a bit quiet since the death of co-pilot Mike Alsbury during a test flight in October 2014. The latest news is that a new version of Virgin Galactic's six-man SpaceShipTwo – which takes off from a jet-powered White Knight Two cargo aircraft – will be shown off in February 2016, with test flights to follow.

The exact date, or even year, of the wannabe spaceliner's first scheduled 2.5-hour flights from Spaceport America, New Mexico, USA – complete with five minutes of weightlessness prior to reentering Earth's atmosphere – remains a mystery, although at $250,000 / £165,000 / AU$350,000 per trip Virgin Galactic is unlikely to become the EasyJet of space travel.

www.virgingalactic.com

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
XCOR Lynx Mark I & Lynx Mark II

XCOR Lynx Mark I & Lynx Mark II

You can leave a few coins floating in your pocket by opting instead for a supersonic flight with XCOR Space Expeditions, which plans to charge a mere $100,000 / £66,000 / AU$140,000 for a ticket to the edge of space in one of its two rocket-powered Lynx spaceships. Again, they'll take off from and land at Spaceport America in New Mexico, USA like a normal aeroplane, but they only have two seats.

Sir Bob Geldof and DJ Armin van Buuren are among the 250-ish ticket holders for XCOR's planned 30-minute flights, which are due to begin in late 2016 after test flights earlier in the year.

www.spaceexpeditions.xcor.com

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
airZeroG parabolic flight

airZeroG parabolic flight

The easiest way to experience weightlessness is on a parabolic flight, also known as the 'vomit comet'. The pilot climbs steeply for 10,000ft at an angle of 45 degrees to create 'heaviness' for 40 seconds, which is then followed by 25 seconds of weightlessness as the plane dives back; sudden falls as the effect wears off are prevented by a curved descent that gently increases gravity.

After 25 years performing parabolic flights for scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA), the airZeroG service from Novespace, Avico and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) began in December 2012, and costs $6,465 / £4,245 / AU$9,070 per flight. It flies from Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport in France to a specially assigned air corridor above the Gulf of Gascogne.

www.airzerog.com

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
S3's SOAR shuttle

S3's SOAR shuttle

At $2,473 / £1,624 / AU$3,470 for two hours, Swiss Space Systems' (S3) ZeroG Party Zone is the most affordable parabolic flight of all, although there are 40 of you in the hold of a modified Airbus. Pay three times as much and that's reduced to 28 passengers – and you also get a Breitling S3 ZeroG personalized watch that doubles as your boarding pass. However, S3 wants to go one better with its Sub Orbital Aircraft Reusable (SOAR) shuttle, which launches into orbit from the back of an Airbus A300. Expect suborbital passenger flights – complete with weightlessness – after 2020.

www.s-3.ch

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
G-Force One

G-Force One

Go ZeroG also offers parabolic experiences, on board its specially modified Boeing 727-200, G-Force One. For $4,950 / £3,250 / AU$6,945 per trip, the Zero G Experience includes an identical weightless experience to S3's, but with food (on a 'vomit comet'?), photos, a video and a 'certificate of weightless completion' also thrown in. It takes off from Cape Canaveral and Ft. Lauderdale in Florida, Las Vegas in Nevada, and San Jose in California.

www.gozerog.com

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Bloon

Bloon

Could you be a 'bloonaut'? This stab at space tourism without rockets comes from Spanish company Bloon, which plans to use helium-filled balloons to carry a pressurised capsule for four passengers and two pilots to the stratosphere and back.

From 2016 or 2017, and for $119,000 / £78,000 / AU$167,000 per passenger, Bloon will lift off from Virgen del Camino in Spain before dawn, rising 36km in an hour before cruising at the same altitude for two hours. After spending some time with Planet Earth, witnessing a sunrise as well as the planet's curvature, the balloon will vent helium gas and slowly descend until – boom! – the cord between pod and sail is cut and passengers go into free-fall, with two minutes of weightlessness to enjoy before a para-foil is deployed and the pod stabilises; it'll then descend slowly for 30 minutes before landing 300 miles from the take-off location.

www.inbloon.com

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
Ilyushin 76 MDK

Ilyushin 76 MDK

Taking off from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City near Moscow – the home of space travel and where both cosmonauts and astronaut crews train prior to a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) – this huge aircraft has been performing acrobatics in the name of weightlessness since 2002. Over 700 people have experienced the 10 bouts of 25 seconds of weightlessness that the Ilyushin 76 MDK offers during its 90-minute parabolic flights. Tickets are sold by Russian travel agency Country of Tourism, at $4,325 / £2,840 / AU$6,065 a pop.

www.bestrussiantour.com

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Space Adventures

Space Adventures

Only 600 or so humans have ever been to space, and if you want to know how many people are currently visiting go to www.howmanypeopleareinspacerightnow.com, although it's not likely to be more than five or six, all crammed in to the ISS. Can you join them in zero gravity? Only if you have a whopping $52 million / £34 million / AU$73 million to spare.

That's about the going rate the world's least busy travel agent, Space Adventures, charges for an orbital spaceflight to the ISS for ten-or-so days of weightlessness arranged in conjunction with Roscocmos. Singer Sarah Brightman, 54, recently pulled out of her planned trip there, although the agency also has Japanese advertising mogul Satoshi Takamatsu on its books.

www.spaceadventures.com

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
Project M-55X

Project M-55X

Since Russia alone launches astronauts to the ISS, should it come as any surprise that it's also planning sub-orbital flights for space tourists? Absolutely not – though details are sketchy. Said to be almost ready, Project M-55X is a 'reusable aerospace system' whereby a C-21 suborbital module detaches from an M-55X carrier aircraft after launch (much like Virgin Galactic's design). The five-man crew will experience weightlessness at about 100km up during 10 minutes of orbiting the Earth. Training is ongoing at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City. Price unknown.

www.bestrussiantour.com

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
Bigelow's inflatable space station

Bigelow's inflatable space station

Arguably just as advanced in its testing as the majority of the supersonic space tourism planes is a privately owned and operated orbital space station. The inflatable Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) from Bigelow Aerospace is currently attached to the ISS for testing, and could form the basis of a standalone space station by 2025.

That's crucial, because with the ISS due to retire in 2024, space agencies are hoping to instead simply pay for their astronauts to visit private space stations – undoubtedly alongside space tourists who are just after a taste of zero gravity.

www.bigelowaerospace.com

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
Jamie Carter
Jamie Carter
Social Links Navigation

Jamie is a freelance tech, travel and space journalist based in the UK. He’s been writing regularly for Techradar since it was launched in 2008 and also writes regularly for Forbes, The Telegraph, the South China Morning Post, Sky & Telescope and the Sky At Night magazine as well as other Future titles T3, Digital Camera World, All About Space and Space.com. He also edits two of his own websites, TravGear.com and WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com that reflect his obsession with travel gear and solar eclipse travel. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners (Springer, 2015),

Read more
The Meta Quest 3 and controllers on their charging station which is itself on a wooden desk next to a lamp
You might get a free Meta Quest 3 to use on your next flight, but I'm not keen on the advertising it'll serve you
A person wearing a Meta Quest 3 on a flight
I took my Meta Quest 3 on a 3,000-mile flight so you don’t have to – here's what I learned
A phone showing the new Airbnb app, next to a photo of horseback riding through four hidden temples of the Inkas - Cusco, Peru - 2025 Summer Release
The Airbnb app just got a massive redesign – here are 3 new features to look out for
A crop of the Rosette nebula photographed with the ZWO Seestar S50 smart telescope and processed in Pixinsight
I spent a year with the $550 smart telescope that's shaking up the astrophotography world – and this is what it’s capable of
Hamish wearing his Xreal One glasses
I always fly with a pair of AR glasses in my bag – here are 4 reasons you should too
An in-flight seatback screen with Spotify content next to a screen shot of a podcast page
Spotify fans just got another free in-flight upgrade, thanks to this Starlink and United Airlines collab
Latest in Tech
A Tesla car, James Bonds and Samsung's foldable promo image
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from Tesla finally launching robotaxis (kinda) to Samsung's foldables teaser
Gaming desk setup featuring Nanoleaf Pegboard desk dock
I tried to make an immersive smart lighting gaming desk setup and failed horribly – here's why
The image is split into three sections and shows parts of an RGB keyboard, an orange Motorola phone, and a multicolored rope light.
Good tech doesn’t have to be boring – from headphones to smart lights, here are my top 6 recommendations for colorful tech that'll stand out from the crowd
The Oakley Meta glasses, Alexa+ logo, and the Trump Mobile
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech news stories from Oakley's next-gen smart glasses to our first week with Alexa+
Ring Battery Doorbell in white on blue background with TechRadar lowest price text
Don't wait for Prime Day: the Ring Battery Doorbell drops to a new record-low price
HP OMEN 16 2K 144Hz Gaming Laptop on pink background with TechRadar don't miss sign
RTX 5060 gaming laptops are starting to drop in price - like this $300 off HP Omen at Best Buy
Latest in News
Donald Trump holding a phone next to an image of the Trump Mobile T1 on a gold background
Trump Mobile looks like a normal high-speed cell network – with one big and worrisome exception
Upset PC gamer with head in hands by his PC
I don't generally recommend downloading Windows 11's preview updates, but some gamers may want to chance Microsoft's latest effort
The Meta Quets 3S Xbox
My favorite VR headset of 2025 has started selling out – here’s why you should grab one before it’s gone for good
Visual representation of a passkey on a computer chip
It's about time - Microsoft finally rolls out better passkey integration in Windows
A close-up of the mobile connectivity options in iOS, showing buttons for Airplane Mode, mobile data, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
This worrying Bluetooth security flaw could let hackers spy on your device via microphone
Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary trailer teases Ryan Gosling’s desperate mission to save the sun in Amazon’s sci-fi spectacle movie
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. 1
    ChatGPT kept giving me bland dinner recipes until I showed it the kind of meals I actually like
  2. 2
    This Lenovo Chromebook uses a CPU not found in any other laptops - and it should give AMD and Intel a run for their money
  3. 3
    This touching viral AI video of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s mom hugging him is also sparking a fiery debate
  4. 4
    70% of new hires click on phishing links within the first 3 months of employment - here's how to stay safe
  5. 5
    Samsung just launched a new 32-inch 4K smart OLED monitor with AI and Microsoft 365 access, but why is it so expensive?

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Web notifications
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...