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Space Tourism & Human Spaceflight

Space tourism encompasses suborbital joy rides, orbital experiences, and the emerging commercial space station market. While still nascent in revenue terms, the sector represents the most visible consumer-facing space market and is attracting significant investment in commercial LEO destinations.

Key Metric

New Shepard tourism flights carried 98 people above the Kármán line before a pause of at least two years (January 2026)

Checked 10 October 2026. Source

Companies in This Sector

5 tracked

Market Leaders

SpaceXCrew Dragon private orbital missions (Polaris Dawn, Fram2)

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Blue OriginNew Shepard suborbital tourism, flights paused since January 2026 for at least two years

Axiom SpacePrivate astronaut missions to the ISS (Ax-1 through Ax-4 flown, Ax-5 targeted NET January 2027), developing station modules

Challengers

Virgin GalacticDelta-class suborbital spaceships in development (SpaceShipTwo Unity retired June 2024); first commercial flight now expected 2027

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Voyager Technologies (Starlab)Commercial space station joint venture with Airbus

Key Trends

→Commercial space stations in development to take over from the ISS after its deorbit in the early 2030s
→Suborbital tourism on hold in 2026: New Shepard paused and Virgin Galactic's Delta service slipped to 2027