In the interview, the legendary aircraft designer describes the now underway project to privatize space travel and make it an affordable tourism industry—with projections of 100,000 trips in the next 12 years, at $475 for suborbital flight and $12,000 to enter full orbit. The video also includes photos and graphics
Rutan says flying tens of thousands of passangers over 10 to 12 years will mature safety systems, making spaceflight much cheaper, and reduce costs dramatically.
Propellants are about a third of the total cost of commercial airflight or automobile transportation. If chemical based space launch achieves taht metric then the $475 for suborbital flight and $12,000 to enter full orbit is the result.
Lower costs would need non-chemical propulsion.