You may not have the training to go to space in a rocket, but what about a balloon? Well, the first place to take flight on one will be in Central Florida.
NBC6 affiliate WESH got a behind-the-scenes look at a space tourist startup called Space Perspective which has officially opened its doors to the public.
“So we go up under a balloon, which goes at a blazing 12 miles an hour. So very slowly ascending, takes two hours to get there. Then essentially we float on top of the Earth’s atmosphere, like an ice cube floating on water,” said Taber MacCallum, Space Perspective’s Founder and co-CEO.
The trip then takes a slow two-hour descent into the ocean and a total of six hours in what the space balloon company calls a “space lounge” in their Neptune capsules.
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The capsules and the balloons will be manufactured at the company’s campus at the Space Coast Regional Airport.
Interested passengers will have to pay $125,000, and already more than 1,600 people have made a deposit to fly.
While Space Perspective is yet another company allowing more people to tour space, MacCallum said it does not see Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic as competitors.
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“We’re the slowest to go up, the smoothest. So we think in doing our kind of experience, will then lead onto Blue or Virgin. But it’s certainly designed to be the most accessible,” MacCallum said.
Like other space tourist rocket companies, they are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Coast Guard for splashdown.
Because of the uniqueness of their space balloons, all the manufacturing equipment had to be custom-made, including two 600-foot-long tables, so that two balloons could be made at the same time.
A new balloon will be used each time there’s a flight, so once they are fully operational, a steep increase in production is to be expected which will also mean a need for more workers.
According to Space Perspective, the goal is to double the 140 current jobs in the next few years.
“For me, it’s really invigorating to know that this technology also sees this as the best place to be located for a space-related industry and business,” said state Rep. Thad Altman, a Republican from Brevard County District 32.
The first test flight will come by the end of the year and the first paying passengers will fly inside the Neptune by mid-2024.
