Space Perspective bills itself as the “world’s first luxury spaceflight experience company,” and the service may indeed be the wildest and most exclusive travel adventure one could embark upon today. Onboard a specially engineered capsule lounge, guests ascend to the upper limits of Earth’s stratosphere while sipping on drinks and nibbling foods while enjoying a room with a view unlike any other. Noteworthy still is the vessel’s carbon neutrality.
As reported after Space Perspective’s announcement in 2022, the luxury space balloon service invites guests onto the Spaceship Neptune, a teardrop-shaped pressurized capsule appointed with the creature comforts of a plush lounge and engineered to ascend to a 100,000-foot apex. That’s the height where our planet’s atmosphere meets outer space, about 3x higher than cruising altitude of a commercial airplane. Because the ascent and descent are handled by a balloon (larger than a football field) rather than a rocket, astronaut training is not required, nor does the trip incur the harsh physical stresses required of rocket flight.
The spaceship is optimized to comfortably seat eight “Explorers” and one pilot, with everyone given an unobstructed 360-degree panoramic view of Earth’s curvature.
The seating arrangement, interactive lighting, and sound systems create something akin to a Las Vegas nightclub. But the dark color scheme isn’t simply a mood, it’s a thoughtful composition chosen to reduce glare and reflections while plush tactile materials allow passengers to feel, as much as see, their way within the confines of the floating dark room.
And because Space Perspective recognizes their “Explorers” – adventure seekers willing to part with $125,000 – are going to feel vehemently inclined to share their experience in real-time, the capsule is equipped with Wi-Fi. A layout of sensors and screens continually displays detailed data throughout the entire trip up and down, outfitted with cameras inside and out documenting the entire trip to be offered to participants upon return. And, yes, there’s a bathroom onboard (and it has its own window).
Those worried about speed or enduring the sensation of weightlessness need not worry. The capsule and balloon skirts space at a leisurely 12mph never actually reaching where weightlessness occurs.
What goes up must come down. If there is any part of the experience that closely mirrors that of real astronauts returning to terra firma, it happens when the Spaceship Neptune capsule descends back to Earth, landing onto water.
What: Space Perspective
Where: The Earth’s stratosphere, 100,000 feet above Earth’s surface
How much: $125,000 per seat
Highlights: There are few experiences as exclusive as traveling into the upper limits of Earth’s upper atmosphere while comfortably floating within a luxuriously designed cabin offering a 360-degree view during a six-hour journey that can be shared in real time over Wi-Fi.
Design draw: If you want to see a glimpse of the future of space travel and the design associated with luxury travel from high above, the Spaceship Neptune might be your most realistic opportunity to attain near-astronaut status.
