China's Deep Blue Aerospace has announced plans to enter the space tourism market, aiming to launch paying customers on suborbital flights starting in 2027. The tickets are priced at 1.5 million RMB (approximately $210,000), offering an experience that promises more than just brief weightlessness, with passengers expected to witness the vastness of space and the Earth’s landscape.
The announcement was made on October 23, 2024, by Huo Liang, the founder of Deep Blue Aerospace, during a live broadcast. The company is developing a reusable rocket-capsule system similar to Blue Origin's New Shepard, which has successfully conducted multiple suborbital flights.
Deep Blue Aerospace plans to conduct extensive testing of its suborbital system, with dozens of tests scheduled in 2026. The first high-altitude recovery flight of its Nebula-1 rocket is planned for November 2024, followed by an orbital reentry test in early 2025. The company aims to commence commercial suborbital flights in 2027.
The Nebula-1 rocket is designed to carry six passengers and will reach altitudes of 100 km (62 miles), allowing passengers to experience several minutes of weightlessness. The rocket's specifications indicate a maximum reusable capacity of 50 flights, with a payload capacity of nearly 2,000 kg (2.2 tons) to low Earth orbit.
Deep Blue Aerospace's entry into the space tourism sector follows the successes of other companies like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, which have paved the way for commercial space travel. The competition in this emerging market is expected to intensify as other Chinese companies, such as CAS Space, also pursue similar goals.