The space tourism company World View is now ready to get back into business. Its stratospheric balloon flight, which costs a quarter of what SpaceX or Blue Origin tours cost, is expected to offer customers a very space-like experience.
The globe-shaped capsules will transport up to 8 people 30 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, offering spectacular views of our blue planet. Although it will not reach what NASA has stipulated as space itself, which is an altitude of 80 kilometers ( the Kármán Line is established at 100 kilometers above sea level, as a widely accepted space border ), because the balloons They can’t go into space , they can go up enough so that space passengers can see the curvature of the Earth as well as the blackness of space.
The trips will last between 6 and 8 hours , but they are also planning a somewhat longer adventure, of five days, in which the passengers will fly over historical places on Earth, such as the Great Barrier Reef or the Pyramids of Giza.
Redefining space tourism
“At 30,000 meters you have a spectacular panoramic view of the Earth’s surface. With this wide-angle view, you will clearly see the curvature of the Earth and the “thin blue line” of the Earth’s atmosphere, “according to the company. Also, because you will be higher than the thickest parts of the atmosphere, you will be shrouded in the darkness of space. Its horizon will extend in the distance more than 1,600 kilometers in all directions ”, continues World View.
In the event that the balloon punctured, it wouldn’t explode or cause a sudden free fall, if you’re wondering. The helium would slowly come out of the balloon and eventually the balloon and capsule would slowly begin to lose altitude. Even with a large tear, it would take several hours for the balloon to float slowly to the ground (and remember that helium is not flammable, so there would be no risk of explosion).
The price is $ 50,000 (about 43,000 euros to change) per person, which makes it much more affordable than the Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic offers at the moment. It’s still expensive, of course, but it’s not Blue Origin’s several million dollars or Virgin Galactic’s $ 450,000 per seat. Plus, the journey into the stratosphere will be smooth enough to accommodate people of vastly different ages and fitness levels. This price, $ 50,000, is comparable to the cost of a high-end vehicle, and many people will agree that the experience is worth it.
The first flight is already complete
The first commercial flight with a crew is complete . The non-profit organization Space For Humanity has purchased all the seats for this debut mission and will fill them with citizen astronauts that it will select and train.
World View is not trying to compete with the big space tourism companies like Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX, but it is trying to get closer to the forefront of what is an emerging sector.
The company is still working on the final design of the capsule and needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration before it can offer commercial flights, but is confident that the first flight will be around 2024. They intend to make 100 flights a year anywhere of the world.
