The world’s largest capsule built for space travel has opened its doors to the public, offering a luxurious experience for up to eight people paying $125.00 per seat.
Florida-based Space Perspective showed off the final version of its spaceship Neptune – Excelsior, which features a bar, plush seating and a “proper restroom.”
Unlike other space tourism companies that use rockets, this spherical capsule is tethered to a giant balloon that will float 20 miles above the surface and remain suspended in the final frontier for two hours.
The capsule has twice the volume of Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship Two and Blue Origin’s New Shepard, and about four times as much as SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
With the balloon completed and the launch ship outfitted, the company is now mapping out test flights – with the first human trial set for later this year.
However, Virgin takes paying customers 50 miles above the surface and Blue Origin floats 65 miles, but for double the price of Space Perspective.
“With the largest windows ever flown into space and a spherical design that accommodates the most spacious interior of any human spaceflight capsule ever created, our spacecraft offers the most incredible panoramic views of Earth,” the company shared in the announcement.
“Now that the first SpaceBalloon is ready and the launch ship, Marine Spaceport Voyager, is in the final stages of preparation, Space Perspective is beginning to monitor its test flights.”
The test capsule is named Excelsior in honor of the late balloon space jump pioneer Joe Kittinger, who held the world record for the highest skydive at 100,000 feet.
Neptune has a diameter of 16 feet and offers a pressurized volume of more than 2,000 cubic feet.
Inside the capsule, Explorers, as they are called, will enjoy the comfort of the world’s first Space Lounge, complete with Wi-Fi, fine dining, plush seating and luxury amenities.
They’ll also enjoy panoramic views through the largest windows ever flown into space – and even enjoy “a real toilet” that the company calls the Space Spa.
The company said the pod has a proper restroom, complete with hand-washing station
The bathroom also has a flushable toilet. The company said 1,700 seats have been reserved
Taber MacCallum, co-founder of Space Perspective, said: ‘We are on the cusp of a staggering change – not just in the way we humans experience space, but also in what we conjure up in our minds when we think of the spaceship that takes us there.
“We are redefining the category and paving the way for accessible space travel for years to come.”
The capsule’s interior can accommodate up to eight space tourists who can enjoy deep seats that recline and provide “mood lighting” while taking in the views of space through giant windows along the walls.
Florida-based Space Perspective showed the final version of its spaceship Neptune – Excelsior with a bar, soft seats (pictured) and a ‘real toilet’.
Passengers will sip champagne as they enjoy their ‘relaxing’ six-hour journey to see the curvature of the Earth before returning home.
The company said 1,700 seats have been reserved.
Space Perspective’s balloon is powered by hydrogen, and the company notes that this makes for a safe experience because the air itself does not mix with hydrogen.
The balloon will have a volume of 18 million cubic feet when fully deployed – large enough to hold a football stadium.
Because the gas is lighter than the surrounding air, the balloon will gently rise and rise through the Earth’s atmosphere, with the capsule underneath.
It will eventually reach equilibrium above 99 percent of Earth’s atmosphere, where it will float, “like an ice cube floating on water,” the company shared.
During the ascent, passengers can see up to 700 kilometers in all directions, and at peak altitude they will see the utter blackness of space and the curvature of the Earth.
During the flight, travelers will be served breakfast, order drinks and sit back in their plush reclining seats while enjoying the exclusive view.
The capsule is twice the volume of Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship Two and Blue Origin’s New Shepard, and about four times that of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
Unlike other space tourism companies that use rockets, this spherical capsule is tethered to a giant balloon that will float 20 miles above the surface and remain suspended in the final frontier for two hours.
When it’s time to return to Earth, the balloon will gradually release a small amount of gas that turns into water so it can descend.
This is why the vehicle has virtually no emissions and is very different from conventional launches that burn rocket fuel.
A patent-pending splash cone at the base ensures a “smooth and gentle water landing” in the ocean before returning passengers to land.
The company plans to make several Spaceship Neptune capsules, which could be launched from ships stationed in the ocean.
Multiple Spaceship Neptune capsules would be able to see each other in space from 20 to 30 miles away, and would also be visible to people on the ground.
Customers have already bought up entire capsules for group events and some even want to celebrate their wedding there, according to the company, which started selling flights at the end of June 2021.
Others might celebrate their milestone birthday aboard a capsule or take a corporate event “to new heights,” the company said.