Abstract
Have you ever asked yourself the question 'can i travel to space?' SpaceX has been successful in their recent launches as well as rocket landings opening up the possibility of space travel for all. But what about the alternative space travel options?
Transport design studio PriestmanGoode and U.S.-based space tourism startup Space Perspective, have developed a concept for a high-performance balloon and pressurised capsule that can take explorers on a "cruise" around the upper edge of earth's atmosphere.
Named 'Neptune', the balloon will be flown by a pilot, Neptune will take up to eight passengers on a six-hour journey to the edge of space and safely back again. It will take explorers on a two-hour gentle ascent above 99% of the Earth’s atmosphere to 100,000 feet, where it cruises above the Earth for up to two hours allowing passengers to take in the sights and record their experience. The craft will then make a two-hour descent under the balloon and splash down in the Atlantic Ocean, where a ship retrieves the passengers, the capsule, and the balloon and returns them safely to land.
Passenger experience was at the forefront of the design taking in to consideration all of the different elements that would make the experience not just memorable, but truly comfortable. The capsule boasts 360-degree, unobstructed views with plenty of space for passengers to move around in during their journey.
Neptune’s first un-crewed test flight, as confirmed by Space Perspective is scheduled for early 2021 from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
Footage courtesy of Space Perspective / PriestmanGoode
