If you want to actually orbit Earth—you know, go fast enough to fall around the planet for a few days—the price goes from spicy to thermonuclear. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon missions for private citizens start at roughly $55 million per seat. That’s not a typo either. For context, you could buy 19 solid gold pianos for that money, or you could spend three days floating in zero-G while eating rehydrated mac and cheese.
But wait—there’s a “bargain” option! The Russian Soyuz spacecraft used to sell seats for around $20 million to $40 million. That’s still more money than most of us will see in a lifetime, but hey, it includes a ride to the International Space Station. And you get to hang out with actual astronauts, who will probably make fun of your space shoes.
