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The two pioneers of commercial suborbital space tourism: comparing vehicle design, altitude achieved, tickets sold, operational histories, and the road ahead.
| Metric | Virgin Galactic | Blue Origin (New Shepard) |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 | 2000 |
| Founder | Richard Branson (Virgin Group) | Jeff Bezos |
| Headquarters | Las Cruces, NM (Spaceport America) | Kent, WA |
| Vehicle | VSS Unity (SpaceShipTwo); Delta class (development) | New Shepard (NS) capsule + booster |
| Vehicle Type | Air-launched glider / rocket plane | Vertical launch, ballistic capsule |
| Apogee Altitude | ~89–90 km (Kármán line disputed) | ~107 km (above 100 km Kármán line) |
| Crewed Tourist Flights Completed | 6 commercial spaceflights (Galactic 01–06, June 2023 – Jan 2024) | 8 crewed flights (2021–2024, including post-return NS-25/NS-26) |
| Passengers Per Flight | 6 (including 2 pilots) | 6 passengers (autonomous capsule) |
| Ticket Price | $750,000 per seat (sales reopened Apr 2026; was $450,000 in 2021 and $600,000 in 2023) | Not publicly listed (auctioned / private) |
| Operational Status (2026) | Not flying: Unity retired after Galactic 06 (Jan 2024); Delta-class commercial service targeted Q4 2026 | Paused: New Shepard flights halted Jan 30, 2026 for at least two years to focus on the Blue Moon lunar lander (last flight NS-38) |
| New Shepard Anomaly | N/A | Uncrewed booster failure Sep 2022; flights resumed May 2024 |
| Publicly Traded | Yes (SPCE, NYSE) | No (private) |
| Next Vehicle | Delta class spaceplane (in development) | New Glenn (orbital): separate program |
| FAA Launch License | Yes (commercial launch operator) | Yes (commercial launch operator) |
Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin represent fundamentally different engineering approaches to suborbital tourism. Virgin Galactic uses a carrier aircraft (WhiteKnightTwo) to air-launch SpaceShipTwo, which then ignites its hybrid rocket motor for a hypersonic climb. Blue Origin's New Shepard uses a conventional vertical rocket launch with a separating capsule that crosses 100 km before a parachute landing. New Shepard clearly exceeds the internationally recognized Kármán line at 100 km, while VSS Unity's ~89 km apogee meets the FAA/USAF definition of space (50 miles / 80 km) but falls short of the 100 km standard.
Virgin Galactic completed its final VSS Unity commercial flight in January 2024 (Galactic 06), then retired the vehicle to focus on its next-generation Delta class spaceplane. Blue Origin's New Shepard program was grounded following an uncrewed booster failure in September 2022 and returned to flight in May 2024. Both programs have flown a similar number of crewed missions (6 for VG, 8 for Blue Origin through 2024), and both face the fundamental challenge of scaling a high-cost, limited-seat experience into a sustainable business.
Track both companies on SpaceNexus
Blue Origin. New Shepard reaches about 107 km, above the 100 km Kármán line; Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo reached about 89-90 km, above the 80 km line the US uses for astronaut wings but below the Kármán line.
Virgin Galactic reopened sales in April 2026 at $750,000 a seat, up from $450,000 in 2021 and $600,000 in 2023, for Delta-class flights targeted from late 2026. Blue Origin never published a New Shepard price (seats were auctioned or sold privately), and it is not selling flights during the pause. Our space-tourism guide keeps the current figures.
Not currently. Its last commercial flight was Galactic 06 in January 2024; VSS Unity was retired and the company is building its Delta-class spaceplanes, with commercial flights targeted after they enter service.
Not at the moment. Blue Origin paused New Shepard on January 30, 2026 for at least two years to put its people on the Blue Moon lunar lander, after NS-38 flew six customers a week earlier. Its safety record stands: crews flown since 2021 with no injuries, and the one failure, an uncrewed booster in September 2022, saw the capsule's abort system pull it clear as designed.
Virgin Galactic is public as SPCE on the NYSE. Blue Origin is private, funded almost entirely by Jeff Bezos, with no announced listing. Nothing on SpaceNexus is investment advice.