The commercial outer space expeditions are set to begin as soon as next year
Inventive new spaceflight startup Space Perspective today unveiled its plans to take travellers and researchers to the edge of space with its new “Spaceship Neptune,” a pressurised balloon structure built to support human space flight.
The new spaceflight voyage plans to launch from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with test flights scheduled as early as the beginning of 2021.
Using extensive international market research and an inventive new design, Spaceship Neptune was designed to provide maximum safety and accessibility, but also places major emphasis on near zero-emissions—an impressive feat that the most mundane Earth travel has yet to achieve.
“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,” Space Perspective Founder and Co-CEO Jane Poynter said in a statement. “Today, it is more crucial than ever to see Earth as a planet, a spaceship for all humanity and our global biosphere.”
The pressurised balloon capsules will be “comfortable and spacious,” measuring the length of a football stadium while accommodating a maximum of eight passengers at a time. The six-hour journey will take passengers to the edge of space, where just twenty astronauts have been before.
“Following the return of human spaceflight from U.S. soil just a few weeks ago, people have never been more excited about space travel,” added Founder and Co-CEO Taber MacCallum. “Few endeavors are more meaningful than enabling people to experience the inspiring perspective of our home planet in space for the betterment of all, and that’s what we are accomplishing with Space Perspective.”
While the official launch date for Spaceship Neptune has yet to be announced, the company has already opened registration for future travellers. To secure a voyage to space or to find out more information, be sure to visit the company’s official website.
See also: Tatler's Guide to Going to Outer Space