Photo: PixabayChina intends to send the first batch of commercial passengers into suborbital space in 2025, with each flight costing between two and three million yuan (about $287,000 to $430,800), rocket expert Yang Yichang said, according to China Media Group.
“Currently, there are three ways to travel into space. The first is to enter the space station, which sets strict requirements for the physical and psychological condition of tourists,” said the scientist, who in 2018 was the general director of the “Long March” 11 rocket project and the founder of the CAS Space rocket company. based in Beijing.
“Another way takes tourists into space on a cargo plane that is used to lift another spacecraft,” he added. Virgin Galactic once announced these types of trips at a cost of $450,000 per seat, according to media reports.
The third way, according to Yang, and the one China will focus on, is suborbital space travel. This will be more convenient for most travelers.
The US began commercializing its space sector in the 1980s, and the industry was relatively mature when SpaceX was founded in 2002.
China launched this sector relatively late in 2015, but the industry has already taken shape with rapid development. “China is likely to reach the level of development of the US in the space commercialization sector within 10 years,” Yang said.
This sector in China has entered the ‘Era 2.0’ driven by applications and market forces, which is different from the ‘Era 1.0′ which was basic manufacturing, research and development’. According to an industry report, in 2021 China had more than 370 enterprises focused on satellite manufacturing, rocket launch and related services based on satellites in orbit, reports CMG.
Source: cgtn.com
