SpaceX Polaris Dawn, Boeing Starliner mean record number of people in space

Since November 2000, there has always been at least one person in space at any given time thanks to the International Space Station. But now, the growth of space tourism and the problems they face Boeing’s Starliner mission means that there are a record number of people in orbit above our planet right now.

It’s been a big few weeks for space travel after Boeing’s ill-fated Starliner capsule returned to Earth after stranding the ISS for much longer than originally planned. When the ship returned to Earth, this it left its two astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in orbit where they will await a walk back to terra firma next year.

After that, SpaceX launched a new mission into the atmosphere that gave two private astronauts the chance to become the first people to walk in private space. Then today, a new batch of astronauts was sent into orbit on their journey to the ISS, bringing the total number of people in space to 19, reports Space.com.

It may not be that many people calling, representing only 0.000006 percent of the US populationbut it’s actually a new record for the number of individuals in orbit at any one time:

Three people launched to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule today (September 11), pushing the total number of people in Earth’s orbit to a new low.

“With the trio now in orbit, there are a record 19 people currently in orbit,” NASA commentator Anna Schneider said during the agency’s webcast of the Soyuz liftoff. The old record was 17, set last year.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit and cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner are aboard the Soyuz spacecraft that launched this morning. The trio heads to the ISS to join Wilmore and Williams, as well as NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Tracy Caldwell-Dyson, Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps. Cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin and Oleg Kononenko are also on board the station.

Also in space right now are Jared Isaacman, Sarah Gillis, Scott Poteet and Anna Menon, who are currently aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule after two of its crew members became the first private citizens to complete a space walk Reuters reports:

Billionaire Jared Isaacman, 41, was the first to come out around 6:52 a.m. ET (1052 GMT). Returning minutes later, SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, 30, was scheduled to take her turn in space, all of their maneuvers broadcast live on the company’s website.

“Back home, we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world,” Isaacman said after emerging from the spacecraft, the planet glinting in half-shadow below him.

That’s a pretty big milestone for space travel, and one that’s sure to be surpassed pretty quickly as more and more companies get on board all billionaires in the space market. We already have Blue Origin, backed by Amazon, offering flights into orbit, and the company is working on that as well an alien base that could house rich people in the future.

In addition to Jeff Bezos’ space brand, there are all kinds of startups promising billionaires the best view of our burning planet, including a startup he’s based on. balloons to carry humans into orbit and another planning a luxury escape into orbit.

A version of this article originally appeared on Jalopnik.