China’s InterstellOr targets 2028 for suborbital space tourism

A Chinese private company, InterstellOr, has announced plans to send tourists to the edge of space by 2028. Tickets are priced at 3 million yuan (about $430,000), and about 20 people, including an actor, engineer, and poet, have already signed up.

According to the company, the CYZ1 suborbital spacecraft will carry seven passengers to the Kármán line (100 kilometers high). The trip offers a weightless experience lasting three to six minutes.

The announcement topped search lists on Baidu, sparking a heated debate. While some netizens questioned the safety and cost, others remained optimistic. Digital blogger Miao Wang (“Cat King”) stated he hopes prices eventually fall to 30,000 yuan. Another influencer noted that with reusable rockets, tickets could become a bargain, observing that “2028 sounds far, but it’s actually just two years away.”

Yang Yuguang of the International Astronautical Federation told CGTN that while suborbital tourism is technically less demanding than orbital flight, it requires strict verification.

“It only needs to reach about 1 kilometer per second, compared with 7.8 kilometers per second for orbital travel,” he mentioned.

“But the key point is how we can do that at a very safe level. We must have certain verification processes and maybe several unmanned launch attempts, and only when all these are very successful can we approve.”

InterstellOr, founded in 2023, has already passed a feasibility review and conducted landing tests. It faces established U.S. competition: Virgin Galactic flies customers for roughly $600,000, and Blue Origin has completed multiple crewed missions since 2021. However, Yang predicts that with technological improvements, prices could drop to one-tenth of current levels within two decades.