This Luxury Space Balloon Lets You Glide 100,000 Feet Above the Earth With a Cocktail in Hand

[Dial H For Hero]

https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/space-ballon-taking-passengers-into-sky-with-luxe-amenities-1234632177/



“If you’re looking for the fury and vibration of a rocket, you’ve come to the wrong place,” says Jane Poynter, cofounder of Space Perspective. “Our Spaceship Neptune offers a gentle ride into space that lets clients absorb the astronaut experience.”

The football-field-sized space balloon carrying the bulbous cabin into the sky at 12 mph (picture the pace of a leisurely bike ride) is in market contrast to the thunderous Flash Gordon blastoffs of Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin. Spaceship Neptune’s swanky, pressurized lounge is a panopticon of windows and includes a bar and bathroom. There’s even Wi-Fi. Instead of g forces gluing fliers to their seats, eight passengers and one pilot will sit in recliners, chatting and sipping cocktails as they gradually zoom out on Kennedy Space Center—Spaceship Neptune’s home port—until it becomes the Florida peninsula, then the East Coast and, eventually, a grand view of Earth itself.

“Some people would love to go pre-dawn,” says Poynter, “so you can really experience the extraordinary sky and see the iconic blue line that separates the Earth below and space. There’s almost a crazy rainbow effect.”

Tested and used by NASA, high-altitude balloons have been around since the 1930s, when they were first employed for research and adventuring. Poynter and her husband, Taber MacCallum, cofounder of Space Perspective, developed and launched the space balloon that carried Alan Eustace to his record-breaking parachute jump of 135,980 feet in 2014.

(excerpt)

I would point out that the term "space" is being used very loosely here, as it only goes up to around 20 miles in altitude.

Tickets? $125,000 per seat.

[James48]

1. Due to the helium shortage

It will not become commercially viable. We have a helium shortage since the federal government closed down the helium reserves.

[Dial H For Hero]

3. Domestic consumption of helium is 40 million cubic feet per year. I don't think a single balloon

such as this will make any appreciable difference. Helium continues to get more expensive, granted....but at a million bucks in ticket revenue per flight, I suspect they'll manage.

[Klaralven]

17. They use hydrogen in an 18 million cubic foot balloon

https://nypost.com/2021/06/23/you-can-ride-a-hydrogen-balloon-to-outer-space-for-125k/

At sea level, far less than 18 million cubic feet of gas are filled, since the gas expands about 100 times its sea level volume by the time it gets to 100,000 feet altitude. They look long and skinny with just a small bubble at the top when they lift off.

[FoxNewsSucks]

2. I'm sure that would be incredible

Closest I'll ever see to anything like that was driving to the top of Haleakala to watch the sunrise.

This is just more evidence that tax rates are far too low, and have been for too long.

[RestoreAmerica2020]

9. Haleakala is on my bucket list! Certainly more affordable than space

..balloon, yet damn--that would be an adventure!

[Backseat Driver]

4. One's not supposed to pop the champagne

until one has landed (or hand it to the property owner and hope he shares).

[rickyhall]

5. No new helium. Once it's gone, it's gone until fusion comes along.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

14. Where does it go? NT

[rickyhall]

15. Space. When it escapes, gravity can't hold it.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

16. Indeed it does. I did not know that. Thanks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium

[Silent3]

20. It's ironic (any annoying) that the second most abundant element...

...in the entire universe is a rare and precious commodity here.

There is some new helium produced here on earth, and it's where I believe most of the helium we already have now comes from -- radioactive decay. Alpha radiation specifically. Alpha particles are essentially helium atoms stripped of their electrons, electrons they'll readily pick up as soon as they get a chance.

Whatever the replacement rate is, I'd guess it's much lower than our current consumption rate.

[brooklynite]

6. Where's the complaining that people shouldn't have this kind of money to spend?

[Treefrog]

7. I'm still wondering why the pilot will be "sipping cocktails."

[Mysterian]

11. The complainer about the complainers

showed up first.

[dpibel]

12. The wealthy are SUCH victims

It's good they have effective advocates.

[tenderfoot]

13. I'm sure billionaires appreciate you looking out for their money

[RandomNumbers]

19. not so much about the money

just what they are spending it on.

YMMV I guess.

[Buns_of_Fire]

8. 125k to join the 20-Mile-High Club. Fair enough.

Space Orgy!

[RestoreAmerica2020]

10. Just wow! What an exciting excursion that would be. Great post. Thanks!

Paz.

[Kali]

18. reminds me of this

https://www.oceanskycruises.com/

2 nights flying and 6 hours at destination, starting at around $226K

[Silent3]

21. Doing this with a ballon instead of a rocket should be tens to hundreds of times cheaper...

...than a rocket launch.

I listened to a news story a few weeks ago about a project in the works to "launch" space telescopes that, now that the problem of vibration reduction has been worked out, should be able to meet and later exceed the capability of the Hubble, at 1/1000th the cost, by using balloons instead of rockets.