According to three of the world’s richest men, we’re at the threshold of a space revolution, one that will see the democratization of space exploration and ultimately save our planet. Space Perspective, a startup that has nothing in common with these three men, promises the same, but at a considerably lower price for the future space tourist.
The idea of space tourism has taken deep roots in the past couple of years, mostly due to the respective efforts of these three billionaires: Elon Musk through SpaceX, Jeff Bezos through Blue Origin, and Sir Richard Branson through Virgin Galactic. They dream of the day when the likes of you and me can buy a ticket to deep space, the Moon, or, in Musk’s case, for a one-way trip to Mars, the new human colony.
For the time being, these three space companies do offer some access to space, albeit limited only to billionaires like the three CEOs. In response, a string of startups is proposing a new approach to space tourism, one where you don’t really go to space, technically speaking, but would get the same kind of mind-opening experience by flying right under the Karman line in space balloons.
Space Perspective is one such company. With Space Neptune, its very own space balloon with a luxury pressurized capsule with seating for eight people, including a pilot, the company plans to offer 6-hour flights close to the edge of space, with a two-hour time of hovering in position, before making the descent back to Earth.
Photo: Space Perspective
Like all the other companies pushing for space tourism, Space Perspective places a great emphasis on how the experience will offer a better appreciation of Earth and, because of it, pave the way for concrete action to preserve it once back on it. The idea might seem rather silly, but it’s derived from the Overview Effect, which refers to a cognitive shift that occurs when viewing the Earth from space and which is widely documented in specialized literature.
Space Perspective also aims for carbon neutrality because you can’t even begin to talk about saving our planet from imminent destruction if you do it by spewing incredible amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. Testing has already begun on the Neptune One prototype balloon, with the company aiming for a second round of tests in early 2023.
Also then, Space Perspective will launch what it recently described as the world’s first marine spaceport, MS for short. It’s called MS Voyager, and it’s a 292-foot (89-meter) floating platform from which space balloons will be launched. The plan is to build an entire fleet of such marine spaceports, which will bring countless benefits for the infrastructure Space Perspective has in mind.
For starters, launches will no longer be dependent on location, weather conditions, or the time of the day. Having these vessels will mean sailing to areas with good weather and/or iconic landmarks to launch balloons from there. For the paying customer, this will mean more launches and a higher frequency of the same, as well as the possibility to admire iconic views while going up.
The marine spaceports, including MS Voyager, will carry fast boats from Fluid Watercraft that will rush to stabilize the capsule once it drops into the water and retrieve the tourists. Space Perspective notes that the capsule will be retrieved from the sea by custom A-frames by Supreme Integrated Technologies, while Silvus Technologies is onboard to provide communications throughout the operation until the return to base.
Photo: Space Perspective
It would be easy to discard the recent announcement as vaporware (and no one would probably blame you for it, given the incredible number of mysterious startups that pop up daily), but Space Perspective is set on proving it’s the real deal.
MS Voyager is not some kind of futuristic dream but a real thing: it’s been purchased from Edison Chouest Offshore, and marine operations will be supported by Guice Offshore. MS Voyager is now being outfitted for launch at the shipyard, which includes retrofitting it to biofuel to reduce its carbon footprint. Further carbon offset for its operation will be done by Cool Effects, and the ship will be based in Port Canaveral.
Space Perspective is already selling reservations for commercial flights, starting at $125,000 per ticket. It’s a lot of money, but it’s comparatively cheap to what Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are charging.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News