Who's booked a trip to space, and whose plans failed to launch?

To infinity and beyond

While space travel has previously been limited to professional astronauts who've spent years in training, commercial space travel is now a reality and has become a 'must-do' for some super-rich stars. Taking it one (small) step further, in a giant leap for Hollywood Tom Cruise even plans to film part of a movie in space.

Read on to discover which famous faces have booked their tickets to space. All dollar values in US dollars. 

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise is well-known for doing his own death-defying stunts and seems determined to up his daredevil game with every movie he makes. Now riding a motorcycle full-throttle off the edge of a cliff before breaking into a parachute jump, as seen in the latest Mission: Impossible movie, is no longer enough for Tom.

Rumours of the star filming a movie in space, including an out-of-this-world bonafide spacewalk, have been floating around for some time. When asked about the project by AP at the premiere of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 in New York, Cruise said: “We’re working on that, I’m working on that, definitely. It’s amazing, I’ve always wanted to do that.”

While little is known about the movie for now, we wouldn’t bet against Major Tom Cruise making an appearance on the International Space Station in the near future.

Rihanna

Pop diva turned entrepreneur Rihanna revealed in 2012 that as a child, she regularly kept watch for aliens over her family home in Bridgetown, Barbados at the request of her father.

While she didn't spy any UFOs, she once spotted a "falling star", which sparked her fascination with space.

The starlet snapped up a place on the Virgin Galactic waiting list back in 2013, reportedly shelling out $750,000 (£610k) for three seats on a journey to space. 

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio expressed an interest in Virgin Galactic’s space endeavours back in 2013. 

Not only did the philanthropic star purchase a ticket for himself – he bought one for the seat next to him, too.

The spare ticket was sold at a charity auction at the Cannes film festival in May 2013, fetching an impressive €1.2 million ($1.5m/£1.2m) for the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS charity. 

Justin Bieber

Pop star Justin Bieber has expressed bold ambitions to shoot a music video in space one day.

His dream may soon come true, as Bieber was one of the celebrities who snapped up a space tourism ticket with Virgin Galactic in 2013 for a cool $250,000 (£203k).

When the singer announced on Twitter that he'd booked a ticket to space along with his manager, Scooter Braun, Sir Richard Branson enthusiastically responded, "Congrats, see you up there!"

Katy Perry

Katy Perry is another A-lister who was quick to jump in line when it came to buying a Virgin Galactic ticket.

The pop star forked out an estimated $200,000 (£162k) for a space trip for her then-fiancé Russell Brand (pictured together) as a birthday gift and was eventually persuaded to reserve herself a seat too.

Perry told MTV News back in 2011 that she and Brand were "interested in anything extraterrestrial". However, following the pair's divorce in 2012, it seems unlikely that they'll be taking to the skies together anytime soon.

Paris Hilton

Hotel heiress Paris Hilton was one of the first stars to snap up a seat with Virgin Galactic all the way back in 2008.

Despite paying a small fortune for her ticket, Hilton has expressed concerns about venturing into space and possibly never returning.

According to The Guardian, the socialite confessed she was confused about "the whole light years thing", and was worried that the complicated rules of space travel meant that she could arrive back on Earth 10,000 years after her departure.

Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet allegedly won't have to pay a dime if she ever decides to join Virgin Galactic on a trip to space.

Sir Richard Branson reportedly gifted the actress a free seat after she helped rescue the billionaire’s mother from a fire on his private island in 2011.

Winslet pulled Branson’s mother Eve – who was in her 90s at the time – from a blaze that started at 4 a.m. in a private residence on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands. 

Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos, the founder of the aerospace company Blue Origin and one of the world's richest men, poses a significant threat to Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism plans. Like Branson, Bezos also travelled to the edge of space in July 2021 in his very own rocket.

Exclusive missions for those who can afford it are already underway at Blue Origin, but Branson doesn’t seem phased by the Amazon founder's success.

In an interview with NBC in 2021, Branson insisted that "honestly, there isn't" any competition between the two ventures.

William Shatner

Star Trek legend William Shatner can now say that he's explored the boundaries of space in real life, having taken part in Blue Origin's 2021 test mission. 

As he was 91 years old at the time of the journey, Shatner is the oldest person ever to visit outer space. 

Speaking about his experience in Bezos' rocket, he raved about the "unbelievable" views, exclaiming that "everybody in the world needs to do this".

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks was reportedly one of the first big names to be offered a seat on Jeff Bezos' commercial spaceflight. However, in an interesting turn of events, the A-list actor decided to turn down the opportunity.

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in November 2021, Hanks revealed that he was expected to fork out around $28 million (£22.7m) for the privilege.

He found the price too high to justify, joking that "we could simulate the experience of going to space right now" instead.

Lance Bass

Best known as one-fifth of the American boy band NSYNC, Lance Bass once moved to Russia in a bid to bag a seat on the Soyuz space capsule back in 2002.

Though he received training from NASA and the Russian Space Programme, he was ultimately denied the chance after his financial backing fell through.

In a 2007 interview with GQ, Bass vowed that he still plans to go to space one day, although there have been no recent updates on how he's going to get there.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Brad Pitt reportedly spent $250,000 (£203.1k) on a commercial space travel ticket, which makes sense when you consider the star knows how to fly a spacecraft...

In his 2019 movie Ad Astra, Pitt played the part of Space Command astronaut Roy McBride. During filming, former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman was brought on board to advise Pitt on how to take control of a spaceship. 

According to reports, the actor's ex-wife Angelina Jolie has also bagged a ticket to space – so let's hope there are no close encounters of the awkward kind.

James Cameron

Legendary director James Cameron is already well versed in undertaking dangerous missions in the name of good cinema, with stunt-filled movies such as Titanic, Aliens, and The Terminator all under his belt. And it turns out that the Hollywood legend is also interested in space travel. 

In 2005 it was reported that Cameron was working with NASA on its Future Mars Mission, and in 2011 it was reported he'd splashed out an astronomical $150 million for a ticket to space via a company called Space Adventures. 

One thing's for sure: Cameron's experience with underwater vehicles that boast high pressure and little oxygen will certainly put him at an advantage when it comes to training for a space mission. 

Michael Strahan

Former American football player and TV personality Michael Strahan is another famous name with a passion for space travel.

Strahan’s plans to blast off the Earth on Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin shuttle came to fruition in December 2021, when he was one of six who boarded the spacecraft for its third flight. Sources suggest that his ticket was free, courtesy of Bezos.

In an interview with ABC News afterwards, Strahan described the occasion as "an out-of-body experience". 

Lady Gaga

In 2013, Us Weekly reported that Lady Gaga had ambitions to be the first person to sing in space. 

At the time, a source told the gossip magazine that the entertainer even planned to do a "month of vocal training because of the atmosphere", and that she'd been booked to perform one song aboard a Virgin Galactic spaceship in 2015. 

Those plans seem to have fallen through, but Gaga's name is still mentioned when celebrity space travel is discussed – so perhaps the singer will still get her Starstruck moment yet.

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