Do you have way too much money burning a hole in your pocket and a desire to go to space but not quite enough money to afford a seat on a rocket that can take you to space? Well, then maybe a capsule strapped to a giant balloon that floats more than 15 miles above ground could scratch that itch for you. And you’ll soon have several options to choose from, CNBC reports.
Several companies are reportedly racing to get into the space balloon game — Zephalto in France, Space Perspective in Florida and World View in Arizona — and they all appear to have the same general plan, although Zephalto is the only one that has already conducted a crewed test flight. While Zephalto’s test didn’t reach its planned altitude, it eventually hopes to conduct flights up to 15 miles above the earth’s surface, while others hope to get as high as 19 miles.
That’s still not the 50 miles generally considered to be where space starts, but the balloons will still be treated like spacecraft by regulators. “There is no universal definition of space,” Space Perspective CEO Jane Poynter told CNBC. “We are regulated as a spaceship. If we go over 98,000 feet, we are a spaceship. Outside the capsule, it’s essentially a vacuum. We’re above 99% of Earth’s atmosphere, which is why the sky is so deep black.”
Total flight time is expected to be around six hours, but it sounds like the capsule will be a little more luxurious than the OceanGate sub. “The capsule itself is designed to carry eight customers and two crew into the stratosphere,” World View CEO Ryan Hartman told CNBC. “There will be a center bar where people can gather, and then, of course, there will be a bathroom aboard the capsule.”
Pricing varies wildly, with a seat on one of World View’s balloons starting at $50,000, while Zephalto plans to charge about $184,000. Space Perspective is a bit more affordable at $125,000, but that’s still far from cheap unless you’re comparing it to the cost of rocket-based space travel.
There are already plenty of things that could go wrong floating from a balloon miles in the air, but the fact that two of these companies are located in Florida and Arizona feels especially risky. What’s to stop a Fox News-pilled local from taking shots at the balloons because they think China is spying on us again? After all, it’s already happening with drones.
