Space Perspective, the space tourism company that plans to launch a space balloon from the Space Coast is ready to take your money.
After completing a successful test flight Friday, the company has opened up reservations for the planned 2024 launches of what will be its first passenger-ready balloon, the Neptune One.
The price: $125,000 per person, but prospective passengers need only deposit $1,000 for now. The total price point is half of what Virgin Galactic charged its first round of customers, who have yet to fly in its rocket-propelled crafts 50 miles into space for a short trip, and that price is likely to go up.
Blue Origin is set to fly its first trip on its New Shepard rocket, and that price point has yet to be set, but an anonymous (for now) bidder paid $28 million to be its first passenger along with founder Jeff Bezos along for the 11-minute ride.
The space balloon is a different approach, offering a 6 hour flight, with a 2-hour ascent to 20 miles altitude, followed by two hours of floating above Earth before a two-hour descent.
“A flight on Spaceship Neptune is meant to be as effortless as boarding a commercial aircraft,” said company cofounder Jane Poynter. “The experience is designed as such that if one is medically fit to board an airplane, then they are well-suited for this journey.”
She and co-founder Taber MacCallum, known for living for two years isolated from the world in the Biosphere 2 habitat in the 1990s, have moved hit their timeline goals after receiving millions from an investment group that includes motivational speaker Tony Robbins.
The test flight on Friday accomplished his the 20 mile altitude target reaching 108,409 feet while crossing the state from east to west and splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico during a 6 hour, 39 minute flight. The company plans a crewed test flight in 2023.
“We anticipate piloting 25 flights in the first year, all departing at various time frames throughout the year,” Poynter said. “We plan to fly from locations around the world to give our customers a diverse itinerary of experiences to choose from.”
Its first launch site though is from the Space Coast Spaceport in Brevard County, currently where its operations center is located at the old Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.
The 650-foot-tall balloon can carry up to eight guests along with the pilot in a capsule that includes a bar and bathroom. It will offer 360-degree views and reclining seats.
“We are giving people unprecedented access to the wonder of space travel, making it luxurious, comfortable, and accessible to anyone with the means and dreams,” Poynter said.
Reservations can be made at www.spaceperspective.com.
