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commercial space

You Won’t Believe How Easily You Can Spot the ISS – Ultimate International Space Station Viewing Guide

ISS Legacy and the Commercial Space Race: Why 2020s Are Launching Humanity Into Deep Space

ISS: A Launch Pad for Deep Space Exploration When the International Space Station was first assembled in 1998, NASA envisioned it as more than a laboratory. It would be a bridge into the solar system—a place to master living and working in space, develop life‑support systems and test technologies before committing astronauts to long voyages. In 2025, with the ISS still orbiting 400 kilometres above Earth, that vision is clearer than ever. Mastering a New Environment Micro‑gravity is a harsh teacher. On the ISS, astronauts must adapt to drinking in weightlessness, sleeping in vertical sleeping bags and maintaining fitness when bones
All the Ways You Can Go to Space: Commercial, Government, and Emerging Opportunities

All the Ways You Can Go to Space: Commercial, Government, and Emerging Opportunities

In July 2021, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo carried a full crew above 80 km. In 2023, Virgin Galactic began commercial service for private space tourists. Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital flights cross the Kármán line at about 100 km and last 10–15 minutes. The first Blue Origin seat was auctioned for $28 million, with routine prices in the few hundred-thousand-dollar range. SpaceX’s Inspiration4 mission in September 2021 was the first all-civilian orbital flight, with a four-person crew trained for about six months. Axiom Space’s Ax-1 mission in April 2022 carried three private customers paying about $55 million per seat for a
The Economic Impacts of Blue Origin’s Spaceflights

The Economic Impacts of Blue Origin’s Spaceflights

As of mid-2025, New Shepard had completed about 32 flights (12 crewed) and carried over 60 passengers. Blue Origin’s New Glenn heavy orbital rocket achieved its first successful orbital launch in January 2025. One New Shepard seat was effectively selling for about $1.3 million, well above Virgin Galactic’s roughly $450,000 per seat. NASA awarded Blue Origin a $3.4 billion fixed-price contract in 2023 to develop a Human Landing System for Artemis V. Blue Origin has secured about $8 billion in Space Force National Security Space Launch contracts, including roughly $5.6B in Lane 1 and $2.4B in Lane 2. In early
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