Dialing back the technology load even further, one U.K.-based company, B2Space, wants to get to space using high-altitude weather balloons. The inexpensive balloons can reach 40 kilometers above Earth, and then launch a rocket the rest of the way into low-earth orbit. This schema, called a Rockoon, was first developed in 1949 by James Van Allen, who used the technique to discover how the earth’s atmosphere traps space radiation.

But the Rockoon’s cheap, simple design has recently regained popularity, thanks to tech improvement. B2Space’s model avoids many of the aerodynamic constraints of other methods. The first stage will be completely reusable, which cuts down cost, but it can also be deployed from almost anywhere and doesn’t need to wait for narrow launch windows.

“Because of the nature of the system, it is very easy that we can move around,” says Victor Montero, one of the co-founders of B2Space. “Some applications are just literally not able to be performed because there is no big satellite going to an area.”

B2Space is aiming to launch in 2021, and hopes to further lower costs by adding light payloads such as cremated remains for space burials. Companies like Celestis, a subsidiary of Space Services Inc., which sells dubious star naming services, regularly puts human remains in space, and the practice seems to be becoming more popular. The ashes aren’t actually “spread,” so they don’t contribute to space debris and eventually will fall back to earth and burn up in the atmosphere. You could also put a whole body in space this way, Montero says.

Another idea Montero says B2Space is floating is on-demand shooting stars. Last month, a Japanese company announced development of a satellite that produces artificial meteor showers by shooting tiny balls that glow as they burn up.

“They can position in an area, for example, in a concert or in a festival,” Montero says. “That’s also something out of the normal application that we are seeing in a small satellite.”

Little Boxes Floating In Space

When it comes to getting satellites into space, though, designing a rocket or a satellite may be the easy part. It seems few companies have actually done test launches, let alone unveil a workable product.

“It’s a very busy space,” says Chris Larmour, the CEO of Orbex, a British-based private launch services company. “You have to separate out people talking about something and actually having the resources, skills, and experience to do that thing. There’s actually only a small group of companies and people that that have those kind of capabilities and resources to get the job done.”

For its part, Orbex, founded in 2015, appears to be taking the lead in the European microlaunch race. The company secured £30 million ($39.6 million) in funding and will share a soon-to-open spaceport with U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin in northern Scotland. Their maiden launch is slated for 2021. But for many others, reaching space remains a dream.

“The ‘space’ part of it is neat, but is not really what’s important to ensuring a successful business,” John Olds, the CEO of Blink Astro, says in an email. “As in any business, developing customers and sustainable revenue streams are king.”