Space Perspective has launched its design for Spaceship Neptune which is a sleek-looking capsule that will offer epic views 20 miles above Earth and luxury amenities – if you don’t mind forking over $125,000 per ticket.
Space Perspective claims a smooth experience because its spherical pod is being propelled into the planet’s stratosphere by a balloon.
It is a Florida-based company that is constructing Spaceship Neptune near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and is planning to offer up to eight passengers at a time the chance to experience panoramic views of Earth during the six-hour round trip.
The new design is the result of ‘thousands of in-depth analyses’ done jointly with a software firm called Siemens Digital Industries.
The Spaceship Neptune will go 20 miles above Earth and it will stay at the edge of space for two hours. People will be able to hold their martini steady since they won’t experience zero gravity.
‘Centuries of balloon and parachute operation and development demonstrate that always flying with the balloon from launch through landing, with traditional parachutes as a reserve backup system, is by far the simplest, safest, and most robust solution,’ said Taber MacCallum, founder, co-CEO and CTO of Space Perspective, in a statement.
The larger capsule gives a larger interior that can accommodate two more passengers than the design shown in October of last year. The interior has deep seats that recline, what the firm calls ‘mood lighting,’ a restroom, and a bar.
Space Perspective has raised a total of $65 million since November of 2021.
Space Perspective calls itself the world’s first ‘luxury spaceflight experience company.’ It has already sold 900 tickets but the commercial flights will begin in 2024.
‘As design specialists, we have integrated the travel experience and aesthetic – from headroom and groups of Explorers being able to move around comfortably within Spaceship Neptune from chair to restroom to bar – to, of course, maximizing the once-in-a-lifetime views,’ Window and Train explained.
‘We now also have an exterior aesthetic that is every bit as powerful as the interior … the engineering team has delivered an unsurpassable outcome in relation to performance and safety.’
‘The Apollo era inspired two generations of scientists and engineers, not just to pursue careers in space but reminded us that we could do anything we set our minds to,’ Jane Poynter, a co-founder of Space Perspective, previously told DailyMail.com.
‘That was the saying – ‘if we can go to the moon, then surely we can do x.’ Spaceflight has an extraordinary power to inspire people of all ages.’