We're One Step Closer to Space Tourism in Balloon Form

What do you think of when you see the phrase “space tourism”? For a lot of people, the answer is likely to be akin to the images of William Shatner on board a Blue Origin flight: a short, high-energy trip into orbit that returns to Earth quickly. But there are other ways of going about it — methods of visiting space that allow travelers to savor the experience, and which have the added benefit of being carbon neutral. And one of the companies leading the way in this type of space tourism just took a big step in making their trips into orbit a reality.

As Dezeen’s Jennifer Hahn reports, Space Perspective just debuted a test capsule to be used as part of their Neptune jaunts into space. How big is it? According to the company’s website, it’s comparable to “a large balcony stateroom on a cruise ship.”

The plan, as the company reiterated on an Instagram post, is for travelers to travel into space via balloon, where they can spend six hours with panoramic views of the planet below. There’s an added environmental bonus to the whole thing, which is to say: it’s all carbon-neutral.

Dezeen reports that the capsule will take its first voyage in the coming weeks, albeit without humans on board.

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As Space Perspective founder and co-CEO Jane Poynter told InsideHook in 2022, the company has embraced the relatively gentle mode of balloon-based space travel. “There is no rigorous training, no weightlessness, and no high G-forces — and hours of unprecedented views through 360-degree windows, rather than a few minutes to peer out the window,” Poynter said at the time.

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Heading into space via balloon isn’t cheap, though — a ticket on board a Space Perspectives voyage will cost you $125,000. Besides the method of transportation, Space Perspectives has a few other things to differentiate it from its competitors, including wifi and an onboard bar.