An otherworldly balloon has taken off from Florida.
Space Perspective, a space tourism company, on Sunday completed the second unmanned test flight of its Spaceship Neptune aircraft, sending the balloon-borne capsule on a six-hour journey into the stratosphere before returning for a splashdown in the ocean.
The Neptune spacecraft is designed to ascend about 20 miles above Earth, offering panoramic views of our home planet and extras including a cocktail menu, music playlist and reclining seats — all for $125,000.
During launch, the massive space balloon was filled with hydrogen, which lifted the Spaceship Neptune capsule skyward at a gentle speed of about 12 miles per hour. When fully inflated, the balloon is nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower and could fill an entire football stadium.
The company hopes to begin human flights in 2025 and commercial operations in 2026.
Space Perspective launched the second unmanned flight test of its Spaceship Neptune aircraft on Tuesday
After reaching maximum altitude in the stratosphere, the aircraft made a controlled descent and splashed down in the ocean, where it was then recovered by a speedboat and crane.
“The completion of Development Flight 2 is a defining moment for Space Perspective,” Space Perspective founder and CTO Taber MacCallum said in a press release.
During Sunday’s test flight, which launched from the deck of the 300-foot-long MS Voyager ship in the Gulf of Mexico, the Neptune spacecraft maintained cabin pressure and stability at its maximum altitude.
This confirmed the safety, design and performance of the largest space capsule ever flown, with the largest windows ever flown,’ Space Perspective said.
After reaching its maximum altitude in the stratosphere, the aircraft made a controlled descent and plunged into the ocean, where it was recovered by a speedboat and a crane.
The data collected during this test flight “will pave the way for the development of manned test flights,” Space Perspective said.
Space Perspective has raised $100 million from investors to support the development of the “world’s first space lounge.”
Although human flights will not begin for some time, the company has already sold more than 1,800 tickets.
The Neptune spacecraft can carry eight people at a time to the edge of space. But a ticket doesn’t just buy you a seat: passengers can also enjoy cocktails, food service, high-speed Wi-Fi, and incredible views of their home planet.
Space Perspective has already sold over 1,800 tickets for a whopping $125,000 per seat (artist’s illustration)
Sunday’s test flight took place from the deck of the 90-meter-long MS Voyager ship in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Neptune spacecraft captured this image to show the view from its maximum altitude of 100,000 feet.
The six-hour flight will include two hours to take in the curvature of the Earth, “the total darkness of space and the thin blue line of our atmosphere,” Space Perspective said.
This is because the Neptune spacecraft takes two hours to reach its maximum altitude and two hours to complete its descent back to Earth. This leaves two hours to spare to remain in the stratosphere.
Passengers can even enjoy this view while using the bathroom, which features “soft, soothing color tones, live plants, stunning window views, high-end products and unique soundscapes,” according to Space Perspective.
The spherical, pressurized aircraft uses a patented space balloon to ascend to an altitude of 100,000 feet, or about 20 miles. It requires no thrust and the cabin is climate-controlled to maximize the comfort of future passengers.
But passengers on the Neptune spacecraft won’t be able to experience the weightlessness offered by Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.
By comparison, the former takes its passengers to an altitude of 65 miles and the latter to 50 miles. A ticket on Blue Origin’s New Shepard for a suborbital space flight typically costs between $250,000 and $500,000.
During launch, the massive space balloon was filled with hydrogen, lifting the Spaceship Neptune capsule skyward at a gentle speed of about 12 miles per hour.
The data collected during this test flight “will pave the way for the development of manned test flights,” Space Perspective said.
Space Perspective’s spherical capsule will dock with a balloon launched from transport ships that are being converted into “floating spaceports” off the coast of Florida.
It is currently under construction near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, with the goal of launching the first model into space by the end of next year.
Space Perspective expects its ‘space lounge’ to be ready to carry passengers by 2025 (artist’s illustration)
Space Perspective conducted Space’s first test flight in 2021 using a capsule simulator and opened its 50,000-square-foot polyethylene balloon manufacturing facility in Titusville in August 2023.
Chief technical officer MacCallum previously said the company will likely conduct 10 uncrewed test flights as it works toward building a vehicle capable of carrying humans.
“This uncrewed flight not only demonstrates our pioneering technology, it brings us a giant step closer to making space accessible to all and reaffirms our belief in the transformative power of space travel,” MacCallum said.