An alien balloon has taken off in Florida.
Space tourism company Space Perspective completed the second unmanned test flight of its Neptune spacecraft on Sunday. The capsule, carried by balloon, made a six-hour journey into the stratosphere before returning for a splashdown in the ocean.
Spaceship Neptune is designed to fly about 20 miles above Earth, offering panoramic views of our home planet. Perks include a cocktail menu, music playlist, and lounge chairs. All for $125,000.
During launch, the enormous space balloon filled with hydrogen, lifting the Spaceship Neptune capsule into the air at a speed of about 19 kilometers per hour. When fully inflated, the balloon is almost as tall as the Eiffel Tower and could fill an entire football stadium.
The company hopes to begin manned flights in 2025 and commercial flights in 2026.
Space Perspective launched the second unmanned flight test of its Neptune spacecraft on Tuesday
After reaching its highest altitude in the stratosphere, the aircraft performed a controlled descent and splashed down into the ocean, where it was then retrieved by a fast boat and a crane.
“The completion of Development Flight 2 is a defining moment for Space Perspective,” said Taber MacCallum, founder and CTO of Space Perspective, in a press release.
During Sunday’s test flight, which launched from the deck of a 300-foot-long MS Voyager ship in the Gulf of Mexico, the Neptune spacecraft maintained cabin pressure and stability at peak altitude.
“This confirmed the safety, design and performance of the largest space capsule ever, with the largest windows ever,” Space Perspective said.
After reaching its maximum altitude in the stratosphere, the aircraft made a controlled descent and landed in the ocean, where it was then retrieved by a fast boat and a crane.
According to Space Perspective, the data collected during this test flight will “pave the way for the development of manned test flights.”
Space Perspective has raised $100 million from investors to support the development of the world’s first space lounge.’
Although flights with people will still take some time, the company has already sold more than 1,800 tickets.
Spaceship Neptune 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, meal service, super-fast Wi-Fi and incredible views of their home planet.
Space Perspective has already sold over 1,800 tickets at a whopping $125,000 per seat (artist’s illustration)
Sunday’s test flight launched from the deck of a 294-foot MS Voyager ship in the Gulf of Mexico
Spacecraft Neptune took this image to show the view from its highest altitude of 100,000 feet
During the six-hour flight, the spacecraft will have two hours to take in the curvature of the Earth, “the total darkness of space and the thin blue line of our atmosphere,” according to Space Perspective.
That’s because it takes two hours for Spaceship Neptune to reach its maximum altitude, and two hours to complete its descent back to Earth. That leaves two hours in between to hang in the stratosphere.
Passengers can even enjoy this view while using the bathroom, which features “soft, soothing color tones, living plants, beautiful window views, luxurious 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 aboard the Neptune spaceship won’t experience the weightlessness provided by Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.
For 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 enormous space balloon filled with hydrogen, lifting the Neptune spacecraft capsule into the air at a speed of about 19 kilometers per hour.
Data collected during this test flight will “pave the way for the development of crewed test flights,” Space Perspective said
Space Perspective’s spherical pod will be attached to a balloon that will be launched from ships being converted into “floating spaceports” off the coast of Florida.
Construction is currently underway near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, with the goal of launching the first model into space late next year.
Space Perspective hopes their ‘space lounge’ will be ready to carry passengers by 2025 (artist’s illustration)
Space Perspective conducted Space’s first test flight using a capsule simulator in 2021 and opened its 50,000-square-foot polyethylene balloon manufacturing facility in Titusville in August 2023.
CTO MacCallum previously said the company will likely conduct 10 unmanned test flights as it builds a vehicle capable of carrying people.
“This unmanned flight not only proves that we have groundbreaking technology, but also takes us a big step closer to making space accessible to everyone. It reaffirms our belief in the transformative power of space travel,” said MacCallum.