Space Perspective
The idea of delivering tourists to the borders of space by balloon still remains unfulfilled. Three years ago, the Florida-based company Space Perspective announced its intention to set up six-hour flights in this way for groups of eight passengers (plus a pilot) to a height of 30.5 km, from where a completely different panorama of the Earth and space opens. This month, the company confirmed the seriousness of its intentions and presented a test version of the space capsule.
At the service of space tourists is a sealed Spaceship Neptune capsule attached to a giant balloon the size of a football stadium filled with hydrogen. The flight schedule is designed for six hours — two of them will take to climb, two hours to explore space attractions and two hours to descend due to gradual venting of gas.
Space Perspective
Space Perspective
Inside the capsule, maximum comfort for travelers will be created — upholstered armchairs, a bar with drinks, a toilet below deck, a Wi-Fi communication system that provides live streaming and panoramic windows with an all-round view. A ticket to near space will cost $125,000, and their sale has already begun. The prototype Spaceship Neptune is still deprived of all this luxury, as it will have numerous test flights. According to the test plan, the very first one will take place in unmanned mode, followed by a series of crewed flights next year. A balloon with a capsule (this will be a sea launch) will launch from the ship Marine Spaceport Voyager. He will also pick it up after the landing.
Space Perspective
Alexander Ageev
