According to the company, the flights will be regulated by the Office of Commercial Space transportation, the branch of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
In recent years, people have used balloons ranging from teddy bears to chicken sandwiches to the edge of space. Now, Florida-based startup is also planning to do the same using balloon. On June 18, Space Perspective announced the company’s plans to start space tourism flights to the edge of outer space with its high-performance balloon (spacecraft) named Spaceship Neptune. The company plans to launch its Spaceship Neptune from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Kennedy Space Center, located in Merritt Island, Florida.
The company plans to launch the first un-crewed test flight in early 2021, including research-related payloads. In May 2020, NASA and SpaceX launched the Demo-2 from the NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:22 pm EDT with two astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken aboard. Space Perspective’s pressurized capsule, Spaceship Neptune will carry around 8 passengers. The company is also planning to start the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Moreover, Space Perspective plans to add some launch sites in places such as Alaska and Hawaii.
A high-performance balloon will lift the Spaceship Neptune to a height of around 30,480 meters, where the blackness of outer space and the curvature of the planet are visible. It will take about two hours to reach that height. Then it will proceed to cruise at this altitude for the next two hours. Moreover, Neptune will have a refreshment bar and a bathroom. According to the company, the flights will be regulated by the Office of Commercial Space transportation, the branch of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The company is expected to reveal more details such as pricing by the end of 2020.