by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:00 PM ET, Mon June 28, 2021
A futuristic dream made real, eager explorers will soon be able to travel to space and back, reimagining the "final frontier" of travel with Space Perspective.
Space Perspective was created by couple Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum, space travel experts and entrepreneurs. Their goal for Space Perspective was to make space travel more accessible to people who aren't astronauts.
By 2024, its goal will finally be realized, offering guests a seat in a luxurious, state-of-the-art spaceballoon for $125,000. The spaceballoon will lift up to eight passengers into space, high enough to see the curvature of the Earth and the sun as it dawns on parts of the world.
"We are not taking everyone into space in a rocketship: there is no rigorous training, no high G-forces with only a few minutes to peer out the window. We are way more than an alternative to rockets - we are an experience that is as easy and as comfortable as flying on a plane. It's a gentle six-hour journey with unprecedented views on a comfortable, pressurized capsule propelled by a spaceballoon large enough to fit the size of a football stadium, the same kind of space balloon that NASA has flown a thousand times over the years and that took Dr. Alan Eustuce up in 2014 for his world altitude record space dive," said Jane Poynter, co-CEO and Chief Experience Officer.
The entire experience, including launch and descent, takes around six hours to complete and is less physically taxing and safer than a regular spaceflight because it doesn't use propulsion or space fuel. Because of that, spaceballoons are also carbon neutral. The capsules are reused for flights, but the spaceballoons are single-use and are recycled afterward.
"Space Perspective offers an extremely safe way to go to space. Our team has been responsible for some of the most remarkable breakthroughs in space innovation and exploration in recent years. Our hand-picked, steeped-in-experience crew has led, developed, or operated all the human spaceballoon flights for the last 50 years," said Poynter. "Our tech is not just proven but adopted by others, including NASA and the American military. The best practices and FAA regulations in design and engineering have been adopted with a back-up plan in place for every scenario. There is a pilot in the capsule and a co-pilot on the ground, who can also control the spacecraft from there, if needed."
The company's second spaceballoon, Neptune One, has successfully made its first test flight, ascending from Space Coast Air and Spaceport, next to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Space Perspective plans to do more test flights into 2023, then begin flying guests in 2024, making space tourism a thing of the present. Each test flight and real flight will also conduct experiments while in space.
Poynter expects the desire for space travel will push Space Perspective to grow significantly: "Within three to five years from the first commercial flight in 2024, we expect to be operating at 500 flights per year from locations around the world. Right now our focus is completely on creating the most incredible experience for customers possible. The Space Perspective experience is fulfilling a lifelong dream to go to space for many people. It's a bucket list item, of major proportions, and our aim is to give our customers unprecedented access to space."
While our journey amongst the stars is still three years away, those who purchase tickets now gain access to important events within the Space Explorer community. Reservations opened last week, on June 23, 2021.
"While our first commercial flights are planned for 2024, the journey to space starts with us now. It goes without saying that our Space Explorer community gains exclusive access to milestone events such as major reveals like our Spaceship interior design," said Poynter. "We are also planning curated invitation-only events in exclusive locations for our Explorers to meet and build bonds with other Space Explorers and NASA Astronauts that will last a lifetime. We will also invite them on behind-the-scenes tours of NASA's Kennedy Space Center and our headquarters and spaceship manufacturing facility when it opens next year."
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