Daily Times

A new startup will launch tourists to new heights by flying them 10,000 feet into the stratosphere inside a pressurized capsule attached to a massive balloon.

Space Perspective announced Thursday the development of its ‘Spaceship Neptune’ that holds nine people and a mini bar, all of which will be encased in large windows.

The ‘cruise’ would entail a two-hour ascent into the atmosphere, where it will then hover over the Atlantic Ocean for another two hours. Unmanned test flights are set to begin in early 2021 and the firm hopes to sell tickets starting in 2024 – but they may cost around $125,000.

Space Perspective is a new startup founded by Jane Poynter and Taber McCallum, who previously co-founded World View – a firm that deploys sensors to the stratosphere attached to balloons to capture space imagery.

Unmanned test flights are set to begin in early 2021 and the firm hopes to sell tickets starting in 2024 – but they may cost around $125,000

And they are using this idea to send humans to the edge of space.

‘For the first time, we can make the thrill of spaceflight accessible to you, our Explorers, in a safe, comfortable manner with minimal physical requirements and as simple as boarding an airplane,’ reads Space Perspective’s website.

‘Our pressurized capsule affords a shirt-sleeves environment, and comes with a refreshments bar and lavatory, of course.’

The Spaceship Neptune soars around 10,000 feet off the ground, allowing tourists to capture the stunning views.

The entire trip is six hours – two hours to reach the specific altitude, two hours in the atmosphere and then a two-hour descent back to the Earth.

The website suggests that cruises will take place right before sunrise.

Eight passengers, plus the pilot, will board the Neptune Capsule, and strap into their seats before ‘lift off into the predawn sky.’

Space Perspective plans to launch its balloons and capsule from Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The capsule will then splash down in the Atlantic and a ship will be nearby to retrieve it and its passengers. Poynter said: ‘We’re committed to fundamentally changing the way people have access to space – both to perform much-needed research to benefit life on Earth and to affect how we view and connect with our planet.’

‘Today, it is more crucial than ever to see Earth as a planet, a spaceship for all humanity and our global biosphere.’

Space Perspective plans to launch an unmanned test-flight in 2021, a crewed test in 2023 and hopes to be fully operating by 2024 – running about 500 missions per year by the end of the decade.