The Japanese travel agency Nippon Travel Agency, in collaboration with the startup Innovative Space Carrier (ISC), has announced the start of the commercial implementation of a project that will eventually allow travel from Tokyo to New York in just 60 minutes, using near-Earth space. This information was published in their press release.
The agreement signed in October is a continuation of the arrangement reached in September of last year. The "SPACE Tour" project aims for the progressive development of space tourism, starting with educational programs and culminating in flights and orbital tours in the 2030s.
The press release states: "Our goal is to make space travel not only a unique experience but also a means of education, communication, and connection between regions and society."
As part of this partnership, Nippon Travel will act as the general agent, responsible for creating tourism products and marketing, while ISC will handle the development and technical support of the transportation system for suborbital flights.
Preliminary applications for participation in programs that include hypersonic flights through near-Earth space and brief orbital journeys will begin to be accepted in the 2026 fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027.
According to estimates by Nippon Travel, the cost of a ticket for a suborbital flight will be approximately 100 million yen (about $657,000) for a round trip. Launches will be conducted from sea platforms, and the engines and vehicle bodies used are planned to be reusable.
