China is working hard to develop its space tourism program

For a long time, China has been a major player in space, but the government is responsible. Now, China is really looking into space tourism, something that billionaires in America have been doing for some time. America first got there when Dennis Tito went into space on a Russian rocket in 2001. China thrives on its vast resources, low costs, and growing private enterprise.

They’re planning fun subspace missions for 2027, and they’re already launching more rockets. China is not alone; They want to make space travel more affordable.

From state monopoly to private frontier

China’s journey into space tourism did not begin until 2014. At that time they allowed private companies to invest in space, which was a big change because previously only the government could do that. In 2016, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) thought that space tourism was worth investing in because people were really interested in going to space.

The big step was made in 2023 when Professor Ge Haichao of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics went into space. This shocked many people. Today, China has the second largest space budget in the world, about 10.3 billion dollars every year, and they employ a lot of people, about 300,000 people more than NASA. Therefore, China’s aerospace industry is growing rapidly. It started with basic research and development, and now it is a market-driven industry. Yang Yiqiang, the person who launched the CAS space and ran the March 11 Long program, thinks it will continue to grow until 2027. They focus on the cheap and easy use of subflight, satellite services and the Internet in low Earth orbit.

China’s private space tourism route

There are a number of new companies that have started since 2014, and they are leading the way. These companies don’t just build rockets; They are also trying to make space travel cheaper than in the West.

CAS Space: A Partnership for the Stars

CAS Space, which was launched in December 2018 with the support of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Guangzhou government, is a major company that wants to get into space tourism. They contracted with China Tourism Group, which is the largest travel company in China, to integrate space technology with tourism. They want to create “a new space economy like tourism” where people can ride a rocket and stay in space.

Yang Yue-Chiang thinks that underground tours will start in 2027. These trips will use reusable rockets that can carry seven tourists at a time and can send up to a thousand people into space every year. As they get better at monetizing it, “space travel for the common man is no longer a fantasy but a reality,” he says. Because China can make things cheaper than the United States, these trips could make space travel accessible to everyone.

Deep Blue Space: Taobao Tickets to Orbit

In 2024, the deep blue sky did something interesting. They sold two tickets to space on Taobao for 1 million yuan ($140,000), a preview of what they are planning. The company was launched in 2016 and is run by Hu Liang who has a lot of experience in aerospace. They plan to offer subsonic flights by 2027, where people can experience five minutes of zero gravity for 1.5 million yuan (about $210,000).

“Chinese start-ups are increasingly competing against their American or European counterparts,” GM Vice President Zheng Ze said. He noted that Elon Musk has cut the price of the Falcon 9 from $8,000 to $3,000 per kilogram, and Zheng thinks Deep Blue can cut it another 20-30% because labor and materials are cheaper in China. It’s not just talk; They work hard to make it happen.

Land Space: SpaceX’s methane-powered propellant

LandSpace, which was launched in 2015 at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, made history in 2018 as the first private Chinese company to attempt to send something into orbit using the Zhuque-1 rocket. However, what was impressive was that they were the first to reach orbit with a liquid methane rocket. Land Space is really going for it, aiming to be the cheapest option to travel to launch bays. November 23 saw Zhuque-3 Buzz: Think Falcon 9 from SpaceX, but partially reusable, and hungry to steal market share. Methane is the key here, boosting efficiency as LandSpace tries to make China a low-cost leader where it is hoped space tourism can travel on sustainable and more budget-friendly flights.

iSpace: The Personal Orbit Pioneer

Born in October 2016, iSpace made history as China’s first private company to launch its Hyperbola-1 into orbit. Then, in 2023, they grew up with two successes. There was a pilot flight in April, followed by the launch of the DEAR-1 seismic satellite in December, both proving they have the right stuff. Now, they’re focusing on larger, reusable rockets to launch tourist payloads and more.

Galactic Energy: Steady Height for Reuse

Galactic Energy, a Beijing-based company launched in 2018, has successfully launched its Ceres 1 rocket 11 times since 2020, sending 350 kg payloads using solid propellant. Looking ahead, they are developing the Pallas-1, a 4-ton, partially reusable launcher, and they have already completed the first round of static fire tests at Haiyang Port, Shandong. The future? Tourist Payments.

Space Transportation: Spacecraft Speed ​​Monsters

Instead of rockets, space transportation in Beijing is spending its money on space planes. They are working on the Cuantianhou prototype, which is designed for vertical takeoff, a Mach 4 cruise speed, a range of 3,000 km, and an altitude of more than 20 km. They are shooting for a test flight in mid-2025. Using two rotary engine thrusters for efficiency, it will land vertically thanks to smart slow descent technology. Think subliminal adventures with a sci-fi edge.

Breaking the record, chasing the horizon

China’s space game is on the rise. As of November 14, 2025, they have already broken their previous launch record with 72 orbital attempts since January, four more than 68 in 2024. But remember, SpaceX has launched 143 times this year, so there’s still a way to go.

Yang Yaqiang suggests a broader strategy: Developing better business plans for space missions, and getting both government and private companies to work together on things like navigation, remote sensing, and LEO broadband. He thinks that by 2027 things will be “fully mature”, and space tourism will move from an expensive luxury to something more common. A trip to space? CAS Space says it’s a “completely new experience”, weightless, amazing and increasingly made in China.

China is not only trying to stay competitive in this new space; They change the rules. As costs come down and dreams get bigger, maybe we’ll soon be ditching that beach vacation spot to visit. It seems that the stars are getting closer, and also, perhaps, a little more affordable.