Room Perspective, a Florida-based start-up, has unveiled plans to take passengers to the “edge of space” in a pressurized capsule suspended from a massive high-tech version of a hot air balloon. The company has finalized designs for Spaceship Neptune, a sleek-looking capsule that could add a new player to the competition dominated by space tourism. Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic by Richard Branson and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
However, Space Perspective offers a very different experience from that of these interstellar behemoths.
Given its unique balloon-like design, the Neptune spaceship offers a relaxing turbulence experience, as you fly a balloon all the way to the stratosphere while enjoying luxurious amenities.
However, on this journey, passengers will go just 20 miles above the Earth, compared to Blue Origin’s 65 miles and Virgin Galactic’s 50 miles.
But spaceship Neptune will have a much longer flight, giving the eight passengers plenty of time to enjoy the unparalleled views during the six-hour journey.
In comparison, Blue Origin’s launch took just 11 minutes from start to finish, while Virgin Galactic’s flight took about two and a half hours.
A ticket to this spaceship costs $125,000 (£103,000), which is prohibitively expensive for most, but is much more affordable than the $475,000 (£392,000) you’d pay for a trip on the Virgin Galactic, and the reported $28 tickets million (£23 million) that were auctioned off for a chance to fly with Blue Origin.
Taber MacCallum, Founder and Co-CEO of Space Perspective said: “Centuries of balloon and parachute operations and development show that always flying the balloon from launch to landing, using traditional parachutes as a backup backup system, is by far the simplest, safest. and most robust solution.
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Dan Window and Isabella Trani, the chief designers of the Neptune spaceship, said: “As design specialists, we have integrated the travel experience and aesthetics – from headroom and groups of explorers who can move comfortably in spaceship Neptune from seat to toilet to bar – to, of course, experience the once -in-a-lifetime views.
“We now also have an exterior aesthetic that is just as powerful as the interior … the engineering team has delivered an unsurpassed result in terms of performance and safety.”