Space Perspective company is all set to give tourists balloon rides into the stratosphere

While the world still awaits the invention of ‘flying cars’ on Earth, the astronomy industry is all set to send people to space in balloon capsules. These wonderful tourist-based capsules are designed by a new company named Space Perspective. The company wants to send paying customers and even research payloads to the stratosphere, and this will be possible because of Spaceship Neptune.

ALSO READ | Astronomers Detect Rhythmic Fast Radio Bursts From Unknown Source Outside Galaxy

Balloon ride in Space!

Space Perspective's founder and co-CEO Jane Poynter shared that the company is committed to change the access of people towards space, as per a leading space news site. Jane shared that this will also facilitate research that will benefit life on Earth and make people’s connection with it stronger. Here a picture from the official site of Space Perspective of how it will possibly look like:

(Source: Space Perspective)

ALSO READ | Earth-like Exoplanet May Be The Fourth Orbiting Sun-like Star Kepler-160: Astronomers

The Spaceship Neptune capsule might be able to accommodate one pilot along with eight passengers. Like any other luxurious flights, it also has a bar, bathroom, and huge windows which give them a direct look at the Earth. The craft will be launching from the old Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Florida's Space Coast. The spaceship will move over the Atlantic Ocean during the winters and Gulf of Mexico during the summer, as per the prevailing winds.

The maximum altitude of Spaceship Neptune will be about 100,000 feet (30,000 meters). It will be pulled gently upwards by a 650-foot-tall (200 m) balloon filled with buoyant hydrogen. It will be spending two hours in the stratosphere, which will be above 99% of Earth's atmosphere. It will then take two hours to come back down. This means the balloon ride will be a total of six hours. The Spaceship Neptune will be taken out of the sea with the help of a boat. The capsule is reusable while the balloon will be changed for each mission.

(Source: Space Perspective)

ALSO READ | NASA Astronomers Observe Black Hole Hurling Hot Mass Into Space At Jet Speed

Price of the ticket to space

While Space Perspective has not finalised the price, it might approximately sell for around $125,000 initially. It is half of the ride aboard Virgin Galactic's suborbital SpaceShipTwo spaceplane. The price is high and thus the non-profit Space for Humanity has taken up the Citizen Astronaut Program and will thus pay for the flights for passengers who will be working as space ambassadors after they return to Earth.

Space Perspective is also working with NASA to use test facilities at KSC and get expertise like wind and trajectory analysis. Space Perspective has signed a lease agreement with Space Florida. It operates the old Shuttle Landing Facility and associated sites under an agreement with NASA.

ALSO READ | Astronomers Discover Trojan Asteroid Near Jupiter's Orbit For The First Time