Space Perspective yesterday revealed illustrations of its swish cabins, which it hopes to start launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida from late 2024. More than 600 tickets have so far been sold, at US$125,000 (RM529,000) each.
With 1.5m-high windows, deep seats, dark purple tones and subdued lighting, the atmosphere contrasts with the white and sanitised capsules of its competitors.
Wi-Fi connectivity and a drinks bar round out the “Space Lounge” inside the company’s Neptune capsule.
Whether it really constitutes spaceflight is a matter of debate. The balloon reaches an altitude of 30km, much lower than rivals Virgin Galactic that goes just over 80km high, or Blue Origin, which breaches the Karman Line 100m above sea level, the internationally recognised space border.
SpaceX Crew Dragons fly even deeper into space.
But 30km is still far higher than commercial planes, which ascend around 10km high. “We are above 99% of Earth’s atmosphere,” co-founder Jayne Poynter told AFP, meaning passengers will really see the inky black of space.
There’s no special training required. The balloon climbs at a serene 19kph, and the company pitches itself as a greener, zero-emissions alternative to rocket fuels.
They intend to get the hydrogen for the balloon from renewable sources, rather than extracting it from fossil fuels.
The price for the two-hour-up, two-hours-gliding, and two-hour-down voyage, which ends with an ocean splashdown, is significantly less than Virgin Galactic tickets that cost US$450,000 for a ride on a spaceplane.
Blue Origin doesn’t disclose its prices but they are thought to be far more, while four entrepreneurs who flew to the International Space Station (ISS) on a SpaceX ship paid a reported US$55 million each to the company Axiom Space for the privilege.
“We wanted to find a way that really changed the way people think about spaceflight that makes it much more approachable and accessible,” said Poynter.
One thing passengers won’t experience is the feeling of weightlessness. With Virgin’s space plane and Blue Origin’s rocket, passengers can unbuckle and float when the rocket engines are cut but the ship keeps coasting upwards for a few minutes, before gravity pulls it back down.
Passengers on SpaceX ships and those on the ISS, likewise, experience apparent weightlessness because the vessels are orbiting the Earth.
Space Perspective plans 25 flights in its first year, with all seats now booked.