Blue Origin made headlines once again with its latest milestone: an all-female crewed spaceflight featuring a high-profile lineup of passengers. Among those aboard the NS-31 mission on April 14 were pop icon Katy Perry, NASA aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and CBS host Gayle King. The 11-minute journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere was described by participants as transformative—so much so that Perry was seen kissing the ground upon landing.
The suborbital flight, which reached over 62 miles above Earth’s surface and briefly entered space before returning, has stirred up renewed interest in space tourism—especially around one burning question: how much does it cost to go to space?
While Virgin Galactic has set relatively transparent prices, ranging between $200,000 and $450,000 per seat, Blue Origin has opted for a more exclusive and secretive model. The company requires a refundable deposit of $150,000 to begin the reservation process, but the final ticket price is not publicly listed and is negotiated privately.
Back in 2021, Blue Origin auctioned a seat for a staggering $28 million, which was eventually taken by 18-year-old Oliver Daemen. However, not all passengers have paid to fly—celebrities like William Shatner were invited aboard at no cost, presumably due to their influence and alignment with the company’s vision.
“It’s less about money and more about who you are—your social capital and how well you fit into the story they want to tell,” said Roman Chiporukha, co-founder of luxury space travel agency SpaceVIP, in a statement to The Observer.
Since its first crewed mission in 2021, Blue Origin has flown 52 people across 11 missions. The recent flight marks a historic moment: the first all-female spaceflight since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo mission in 1963.
The rocket launched at 9 a.m., and while the experience in space lasted around eight minutes, the emotional and symbolic impact appears to be far more enduring.