Tickets to outer space go on sale in China

Tickets to outer space have gone on sale for two would-be astronauts in China. 

Chinese space startup Deep Blue Aerospace is planning on taking passengers to space in 2027 and although there are only two tickets on sale on Thursday, more will be available next month.

The rocket will take the travellers on a suborbital flight, meaning they will reach outer space but won't enter orbit.

The first round of tickets cost 1.5 million yuan (£162,500) each.

Space tourism is the latest frontier for companies wanting to capitalise on technological advancements that make space travel easier.

Elon Musk's SpaceX and US company Blue Origin are both working on space tourism.

SpaceX sent a billionaire and three other private astronauts into orbit in September.

Daredevil billionaire Jared Isaacman, 41, became the first person to take part in a private spacewalk during that mission, calling the extraordinary view "gorgeous" as he left the spacecraft.

To make its space tourism viable, the Chinese company Deep Blue Aerospace said it needed to have reusable rockets, and plans to recover a carrier rocket from orbit in the first quarter of 2025.

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Last week, SpaceX managed to successfully catch a rocket booster after a launch using giant robotic arms.

The manoeuvre is considered a major breakthrough: previously, similar-sized rocket launch vehicles crashed back down to Earth and were regarded as expendable.