A new space tourism concept, unlike Blue Origin’s capsule and rocket or Virgin Galactic’s supersonic space plane, has been successfully tested off the coast of St Petersburg, Florida.
Space Perspective, which calls itself the world’s first carbon-neutral spaceflight company, is already selling seats in Spaceship Neptune, which is lofted by a balloon and lands by parachute. According to its website, the trip will offer Wi-Fi, a world-class culinary program, plush safety seating, luxury amenities, and panoramic views from the above most of Earth’s atmosphere.
Spaceship Neptune’s test flight
On Sept. 15, its uncrewed test vehicle completed a full flight profile, taking it to approximately 100,000 feet — above 99% of Earth’s atmosphere — during a six-hour journey. After the test flight, it descended slowly and splashed down into the ocean.
“Completing Development Flight 2 is a defining moment for Space Perspective,” said Taber MacCallum, Founder and CTO of Space Perspective. “This uncrewed flight not only proves our pioneering technology but also brings us a giant leap closer to making space accessible for everyone and reaffirms our belief in the transformative power of space travel.” A seat on Spaceship Neptune can already be purchased for US$125,000 (AUD$180,000).
Largest Spaceflight capsule ever flown
During the test, the capsule that constitutes Spaceship Neptune maintained cabin pressure and stability at peak altitude, which the company said confirms the safety, design and performance of what is the largest spaceflight capsule ever flown.
“This flight successfully demonstrated the extraordinary accessibility of Spaceship Neptune’s spaceflight experience with its gentle ascent, descent and splashdown, a critical step in opening space up to more people than ever before possible,” said Jane Poynter, Founder of Space Perspective. “Our advances in marine spaceport technology, spacecraft design, and flight safety are seing truly new standards for the future of space exploration.”
Inside Spaceship Neptune
Spaceship Neptune is a pressurized capsule lofted by a giant SpaceBalloon from Space Perspective’s 294-foot MS Voyager, a floating platform, and descending by parachute. It’s twice the size of the vehicles used by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, at 16 feet (4.9 meters) in diameter. It’s four times larger than SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which NASA uses to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Able to take nine people, Spaceship Neptune will have far larger windows than any other space tourism vehicle and offer hours to gaze at the Earth against the blackness of space.
Space Perspective, whose goal is to take more humans to space than ever before, aims to begin crewed flights next year and start commercial trips in 2026. It’s sold 1,800 tickets so far and raised $100 million from investors and venture capital funds.
This article was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
