Comfortable conditions in a hot air balloon, comparable in price to a flight on a rocket
Florida-based startup Space Perspective presented a capsule for its new spacecraft, Neptune. According to the company's plans, «Neptune» will fly passengers into the stratosphere using a huge hot air balloon instead of rockets as early as next year.
The capsule developed by the company is positioned as «the largest operational manned spacecraft», excluding the ISS. «Neptune» will be the third commercial suborbital spacecraft in history after Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo and Blue Origin's New Shepard capsule.
Test capsule, named «Excelsior» in honor of the US Air Force's space jump project, is fully functional but does not yet have a final interior design. According to Dezeen, amenities such as Wi-Fi, a cocktail bar, a spa and even a toilet are expected to be provided on board.
«This space capsule is unlike anything the world has ever seen. We are on the verge of amazing changes — not only in the perception of space, but also in the idea of what kind of spacecraft will take us there», — said co-founder Taber McCallum.
It is expected that after the start of commercial operation, flights of «Neptune» will accommodate eight passengers and a captain, which the company says will set a record for the number of people carried to the edge of space.
Space Perspective plans to conduct its first manned test flights by the end of the year, with commercial flights for the 1,750 already ticketed people planned for 2025.
Unique experience — the six-hour balloon ride at 18 miles in the air, rather than the relatively shorter rocket-powered flights of rivals, makes the $125,000 ticket price justifiable, the company says.
«If you can take a commercial plane, you can take a spaceship 'Neptune'. This opens up a huge market for people who would otherwise not feel comfortable flying on a rocket, or are physically unable to do so, but still want to see the Earth from space in person», — said co-founder Jane Poynter.
The company is still looking for a supplier of hydrogen to power its balloon engines.