Fancy travelling to the edge of space? Book yourself an exhilarating ride on Spaceship Neptune, a high-performance balloon and pressurised capsule created by American company Space Perspective …
World Travel might still have its restrictions, but nothing should stop us from edge of space, surely! Well, the good people at Florida-based Space Perspective have made it possible for you to travel to infinity and beyond, in a manner of speaking!
The human space flight company, which recently launched its Operations Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, plans to fly passengers and research payloads to the edge of space with its Spaceship Neptune, a high-performance balloon and pressurised capsule. Spaceship Neptune will lift off from the iconic KSC Shuttle Landing Facility with the first un-crewed test flight scheduled in early 2021 that will include a suite of research payloads.
According to Space Perspective Founder and Co-CEO Jane Poynter, the company is committed to 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.” She adds, “Today, it is more crucial than ever to see Earth as a planet, a spaceship for all humanity and our global biosphere.”
Designed on a solid foundation of extensive research combined with 50 plus years of proven technology, Spaceship Neptune was developed from the ground up for maximum safety, accessibility, near zero-emissions and routine operations around the world.
The balloon measures the length of a football stadium and the pressurised capsule is comfortable and spacious. Manned by a pilot, Neptune will be able to take up to eight ‘Explorers’ on an exhilarating six-hour journey to the edge of space and back.
It will also carry research payloads on a two-hour gentle ascent above 99 per cent of the Earth’s atmosphere to 100,000 feet, where it cruises above the Earth for up to two hours allowing passengers to share their experience via social media and with their fellow Explorers. Neptune then makes a two-hour descent under the balloon and splashes down, where a ship retrieves the passengers, the capsule, and the balloon. Neptune’s commercial human spaceflight launches are regulated by the FAA Office of Commercial Spaceflight.
Only 20 people have managed to make it to edge of space and back up till now but with Space Perspective’s Spaceship Neptune, you and I can tick that ‘space’ travel off our bucket list. How thrilling is that!
