You Can Now Reserve a Spot on a Balloon Flight to the Edge of Space
Travelers will enjoy 360-degree views like those from space on a six-hour flight.
Space Perspective, the Florida-based company that plans to offer balloon flights to the stratosphere, is officially accepting reservations days after its first test flight, according to CNN.
The space tourism company will offer flights on its Spaceship Neptune capsule, a vehicle equipped to carry eight passengers 100,000 feet above ground on a flight lasting six hours, for $125,000 per person. Following a gentle two-hour ascension, passengers will be able to enjoy 360-degree views like those from space, before descending another two hours and splashing down into the ocean, where a ship will transport travelers to shore.
The ride will not require any prior training or a spacesuit — in fact, passengers will be able to comfortably enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime experience with a stocked bar and reclining plush seats on board the luxury capsule. The lavatory, which the company claims is “the loo with the best view in the known universe,” is located in the center of the cabin.
Flights are scheduled to commence no earlier than 2024 from the Space Coast Air and Spaceport in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. At this time, refundable reservation deposits are tiered, as higher down payments are required for flights in the company’s first year.
While the pricepoint is certainly steep, it can actually be considered a deal compared to other options in the suborbital travel market, like Virgin Galactic‘s 90-minute space flight, which is listed for $250,000. Space Perspective has not disclosed how many tickets have already been sold, but their first several flights have sold out.
The company’s first test flight took off on June 18, carrying a full-size mockup of the vehicle to an altitude of approximately 108,000 feet across a six hour and 39-minute trip, before splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico, 80 kilometers from the Florida coast. Space Perspective posted a video of a panoramic view from the inaugural flight’s high altitude to its Instagram.
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Reserve your spot on Space Perspective’s website now. Individual seats will require a $1,000 USD refundable deposit and full capsule reservations will require an $8,000 USD refundable deposit.
Meanwhile, scientists recently discovered when the first stars in the Universe began shining.
