In the past, spaceflight was the preserve of government-funded astronauts who had to meet stringent physical, cognitive, psychological and social requirements for selection. But in recent years, that has all been changing.
In September 2024, two non-professional astronauts completed the first privately funded spacewalk, using the Crew Dragon spacecraft built by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. Meanwhile, Houston-based private company Axiom Space is conducting regular flights to the International Space Station (ISS), carrying a mixture of government-funded astronauts and paying customers.
In the last few years, nearly 100 people have become private astronauts through the space tourism companies Blue Origin, operated by Jeff Bezos and Virgin Galactic, by Sir Richard Branson. While the price of a seat on these vehicles remains out of reach for most of us, prices are expected to drop as more players enter the market.
