- Agha defies England as Pakistan post 515-8 in first Test
- September second-warmest on record: EU climate monitor
- Pastor wanted by US for sex trafficking to run for Philippine senate
- Mozambican writer Mia Couto dreams future leaders set an 'example'
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case cleared in separate sex crimes trial
- Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Bangladesh's Yunus says no elections before reforms
- England strike twice as Pakistan reach 397-6 at lunch in first Test
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Kenya's deputy president faces impeachment vote
- N. Korean soldiers 'highly likely' killed in Ukraine: Seoul
- 'Appeals Centre' to referee EU social media disputes
- US Supreme Court to hear 'ghost guns' regulation case
- 'Small' oil leaks detected in Samoa after NZ navy shipwreck
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- At Istanbul church, blessed spring offers hope to Christians and Muslims
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- Myanmar to send rep to regional summit for first time in three years
- Prabowo set to lead bolder Indonesia on world stage
- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- Shanghai stocks pare early surge on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- Chiefs battle past Saints to stay unbeaten
- Deal on climate aid hangs in balance at UN COP29 summit
- Royals hit back against Yankees, Tigers maul Guardians
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
- Jila Mossaed, from refugee poet to Swedish Academy
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- Drugs, people smuggling at heart of Mexico's raging violence
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- Category 5 Hurricane Milton roars towards storm-battered Florida
- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ | |
RBGPF | 100% | 60.52 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ |
Space balloon company offers first look at luxury cabins
A new entrant in the space tourism market promises customers views of the Earth's curvature from the comfort of a luxury cabin, lifted to the upper atmosphere with a giant balloon.
Space Perspective on Tuesday revealed illustrations of its swish cabins, which it hopes to start launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida from late 2024. More than 600 tickets have so far been sold, at $125,000 each.
With five-feet (1.5 meter) high windows, deep seats, dark, purple tones and subdued lighting, the atmosphere contrasts with the white and sanitized capsules of its competitors.
Wifi connectivity and a drinks bar round out the "Space Lounge" inside the company's Neptune capsule.
Whether it really constitutes spaceflight is a matter of debate.
The balloon reaches an altitude of 20 miles (30 kilometers), much lower than rivals Virgin Galactic, which goes just over 50 miles high, or Blue Origin, which breaches the Karman Line, 62 miles above sea level, the internationally-recognized space border.
SpaceX Crew Dragons fly even deeper into space.
But 20 miles is still far higher than commercial planes, which ascend around six miles high.
"We are above 99 percent of Earth's atmosphere," co-founder Jayne Poynter told AFP, meaning passengers will really see the inky black of space.
There's no special training required. The balloon climbs at a serene 12 miles per hour (19 kilometers per hour), and the company pitches itself as a greener, zero-emissions alternative to rocket fuels.
They intend to get the hydrogen for the balloon from renewable sources, rather than extracting it from fossil fuels.
The price for the two-hour-up, two-hours-gliding, and two-hour-down voyage, which ends with an ocean splashdown, is significantly less than Virgin Galactic tickets that cost $450,000 for a ride on a spaceplane.
Blue Origin doesn't disclose its prices but they are thought to be far more, while four entrepreneurs who flew to the International Space Station on a SpaceX ship paid a reported $55 million each to the company Axiom Space for the privilege.
"We wanted to find a way that really changed the way people think about spaceflight that makes it much more approachable and accessible," said Poynter.
One thing the passengers won't experience is feelings of weightlessness.
With Virgin's spaceplane and Blue Origin's rocket, passengers can unbuckle and float when the rocket engines are cut but the ship keeps coasting upwards for a few minutes, before gravity pulls it back down.
Passengers on SpaceX spaceships and those on the ISS likewise experience apparent weightlessness because the vessels are orbiting the Earth.
Space Perspective plans 25 flights in its first year, with all seats now booked.
Y.Kobayashi--AMWN