Extreme Tourism Company Takes You To The Edge Of Space
The days of exploring the depths of space being reserved exclusively for NASA seem to be coming to an end. In recent years, celebrities like Jeff Bezos and William Shatner have experienced what it is like to venture beyond our planet. And now, courtesy of Space Perspective, everyday people will be able to ascend to the edges of space via a space balloon.
A Commerical Spaceport
Space Perspective is a luxury touring company that instead of focusing on international travel, focuses on traveling beyond the Earth. They have recently completed the creation of the first-ever marine spaceport on the coast of Florida. Through this new technology that they have spent the last two years developing, tourists will now be able to be launched into space via a “space balloon” from the open water.
Though it is called a space balloon, the technology is far more stable than it sounds. It was originally created by NASA and has been successfully utilized over 10,000 times. It is a capsule spacious enough to fit eight people inside comfortably. It comes equipped with a bathroom and even has a bar that passengers will be able to enjoy. It will also have wifi and food to enjoy.
Space Balloon
The space balloon is the first such technology accessible to everyday people wanting to go to space, it is still very much a luxury for what the average person will be able to afford. A seat aboard the space balloon will cost $125,000, significantly more than most people make in one year. The trip itself also lasts for six hours.
Once In A Lifetime View
Taber MacCallum is the founder and co-CEO of Space Perspective and shared his pride in the innovation of the space balloon in a press release. “The capability to launch and retrieve the Neptune capsule at sea creates worldwide scalability along with an unprecedented closure of the routine operations safety case,” he said. “We are proud to bring a new spaceflight capability to Port Canaveral and the Space Coast.”
While the space balloon will not be going far enough to reach the moon, Space Perspective says the trip will allow passengers to see the Earth down below, the sun rising over the curve of the Earth, and to see the line of the Earth’s atmosphere. The space balloon will be equipped with windows that provide a nearly 360 degree view and allow those on board to see around 450 miles in each direction.
No Moments Of Zero Gravity
Space Perspective makes it clear that there will be a few differences in this trip compared to what people may have heard from astronauts or seen in movies. For one, passengers aboard the space balloon will never enter a state of zero gravity due to the vessel not reaching the speeds necessary for such a feat. As such, passengers will also not need to undergo any preflight training to acclimate them to the conditions of outer space. Though Space Perspective clarifies that this is a selling point, as it makes the trip more accessible to people.
Space Tourism Reached A New Level
As for safety measures, Space Perspective makes it clear that passengers will be protected at all times. Cameras aboard the space balloon will monitor everything the whole time. Passengers will be able to use the Wi-Fi to communicate with whoever they like. In the event that the space balloon does somehow fail or become damaged, it is equipped with parachutes to allow it to recover and land safely.
While Space Perspective does not quite offer the same experience as what astronauts see at NASA, the space balloon is a big step towards bringing the mysteries of space within reach of everyone.
Source: Space Perspective
