Emerging space: Space tourism

The private markets are constantly evolving, and new spaces rise—and sometimes fall—in the span of a few years. Given this fluidity, it can be challenging to identify and track the most promising emerging spaces of tomorrow. That’s why our analysts have developed a methodology to define and categorize emerging spaces. In this post, we look at space tourism—just one example of a space that is quickly taking off. 🚀

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What is space tourism?
Still in its nascent stages, space tourism aims to pave the way for and popularize recreational space travel. Trips today are infrequent and prohibitively expensive for the vast majority of people. However, a handful of innovative startups are working to reduce the costs so that space travel is more attainable for a broader swath of society in the coming years.

Space tourism is split into three distinct categories:

Suborbital space tourism

Suborbital spaceflights fly at slower speeds (read: 6x the speed of a commercial airplane) that reach lower space but are not powerful enough to enter Earth’s orbit. Instead, tourists aboard a suborbital spaceflight will experience weightlessness for a few minutes at the peak of a flight before falling back to Earth.

Orbital space tourism

Orbital spaceflights must achieve orbital velocity in order to remain in the Earth’s orbit. Trips to the International Space Station (ISS) are considered orbital spaceflights and in 2001, American millionaire and CEO of Wilshire Associates, Dennis Tito, became the first space tourist to board the ISS.

Lunar space tourism

Lunar spaceflights, the most ambitious of the three, seek to travel to the moon. Most commercial lunar spaceflights have focused on flybys around the moon, but NASA plans to land more astronauts on the moon before the decade is over.

Overview of space tourism

What companies are leading in space tourism?

Boeing

• HQ: Chicago, IL
• Leadership: David L. Calhoun, president and CEO
• Share price: $219.61

Boeing may be best known for its commercial airplanes, but the company has partnered with NASA and the US government to increase access to and commercialize travel beyond Earth. Boeing is partnered with NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024. To support Artemis’ moon missions, the company is providing the avionics, core stage and upper stages to NASA’s Space Launch System—a massive structure the size of a 38-story building that will produce 8.8 million pounds of maximum thrust at launch.

In addition to the launch system, Boeing is collaborating with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, to develop the CST-100 Starliner, a commercial spacecraft designed to accommodate seven passengers for missions to low-Earth orbit.
SpaceX

• HQ: Hawthorne, CA
• Leadership: Elon Musk, founder and CEO
• Latest deal: $1.9B, Series N (August 2020)

SpaceX made headlines around the world in May 2020 when it launched the first private crew of NASA astronauts on the Dragon spacecraft. The company, which was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, aimed to reimagine spaceflight by designing and manufacturing fully reusable launch vehicles. By reusing vehicles, it intends to reduce space transportation costs and enable humans to travel to Mars and other parts of the solar system. Although SpaceX has only flown astronauts in its spacecrafts, it plans to offer commercial flights for private passengers in the future.

In August 2020, the company raised $1.9 billion in new capital, according to PitchBook data.
Virgin Galactic

• HQ: Mojave, CA
• Leadership: Richard Branson, Founder
• Latest deal: $460.2M, 2PO (second public offering) on NYSE (August 2020)

Virgin Galactic is a commercial spaceline and vertically integrated aerospace company. Richard Branson founded the company in 2004 with the mission to offer private citizens a transformative space tourism experience. In addition to human spaceflight, the company also manufactures advanced air and space vehicles and launches them from Spaceport America, a commercial spaceport located in the New Mexico desert lands.

In December 2020, the company launched its highly anticipated test flight, but had to abort the mission after a rocket motor failed to ignite. According to Business Insider, Virgin Galactic shares fell 17% following the engine failure.
Blue Origin

• HQ: Kent, WA
• Leadership: Bob Smith, CEO
• Latest deal: Late-stage VC (January 2020)

Founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin develops reusable launch vehicles utilizing rock-powered vertical take-off and landing technology. The company’s stated purpose is to preserve Earth through tapping space’s unlimited resources and energy.

The company’s reusable New Shepard capsule made its first suborbital flight in 2015, successfully landing its rocket booster autonomously.
Axiom Space

• HQ: Houston, TX
• Leadership: Michael Suffredini, cofounder, president and CEO
• Latest deal: $100M, Series A (March 2020)

Founded in 2016, Axiom Space‘s mission is to make low Earth orbit accessible for researchers, manufacturers, governments and individuals. Starting in 2021, the company says it will host private missions to the International Space Station in partnership with SpaceX. In 2024, the company intends to begin its build of the first commercial space station in the solar system.

In March 2020, Axiom Space raised $100 million of Series A venture funding from Hemisphere Ventures, Starbridge Venture Capital and The Venture Collective.

Which investors are most active in space tourism?

Late Stage Management

• HQ: Saint Montclair, NJ
• Space tourism investments: 8
• Notable deal: $450M Series H, SpaceX

Late Stage Management is a boutique private equity consulting firm based in Saint Montclair, New Jersey. The firm represents private investment funds investing in a range of high-tech sectors such as cloud computing, software-as-a-service, banking and biotechnology. Late Stage Management has participated in several funding rounds for SpaceX, including a $450 million late-stage deal in 2017.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

• HQ: Washington D.C.
• Space tourism investments: 7
• Notable deal: $27M grant, Eta Space

Founded in 1958, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government. The organization is responsible for leading civilian space programs, as well as aeronautical engineering and space research. One way NASA supports these initiatives is by awarding grants. Its most recent grant was awarded to Eta Space, a company that develops and deploys advanced cryogenic technologies for the aerospace sector.
Space Angels

• HQ: New York, NY
• Space tourism investments: 5
• Notable deal: $4.5M est. Seed, Radian Aerospace

Space Angels is a global network for angel investors, offering access to the emerging private space industry and investment opportunities across diverse market segments, with expertise and network connections. In January 2020, Space Angels participated in a seed round for Radian Aerospace, a company that intends to simplify interplanetary transportation.
Hemisphere Ventures

• HQ: Mercer Island, WA
• Space tourism investments: 5
• Notable deal: $100M Series A, Axiom Space

Founded in 2014, Hemisphere Ventures is a venture capital investment firm based in Mercer Island, Washington. The firm seeks to invest in the software, biotech, robotics, drones, space, and nanotechnology sectors.

Get to know some of PitchBook’s other emerging spaces

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