LOCATION - Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA
DURATION - ½ Day (6 hours)
AVAILABILITY - Booking now for late 2024
REQUIRED TRAINING - None
Before sunrise, board Spaceship Neptune’s luxury capsule. No need to put on a space suit, train for months, or experience the high gravitational forces of a rocket launch. Simply sit back and relax as you lift off from the iconic runway where the Space Shuttle used to land in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Flight itinerary:
Itinerary:
4AM - 6AM: Ascend to 100,000 feet above sea level, 3 times higher than you would fly in a commercial airliner. See the Earth as the sun rises, illuminating the edges of the upper atmosphere.
6AM - 8AM: Enjoy 2 full hours 20 miles above earth, viewing the curvature of the Earth from the trip’s apogee. Enjoy a cocktail and hors d’ouvres from Spaceship Neptune’s refreshment bar. Be one of the few to experience the overview effect as you view your home planet from above in a gentle yet thrilling voyage.
8AM - 10AM: Slowly descend and land gently in the ocean. A team will retrieve you and the capsule for your return trip back to land.
Research: Citizen explorers will have the opportunity, but not the obligation, to participate in research projects related to atmospheric science, astro- and solar-physics, and astrobiology.
Sponsorship: Sponsor an individual or group experience.
Please contact SpaceVIP for additional information.
Spaceballoons, otherwise called high altitude or scientific balloons, float upward in the atmosphere by using a gas that is lighter than air. In the case of Space Perspective’s Neptune balloon, that gas is hydrogen. Helium is also a common option but is in limited supply as it is heavily used in other industries including medicine. The floating is made possible by the buoyancy force which is exactly how a boat stays afloat on water.
The spaceballoon does not need to be completely filled with hydrogen upon lift off. As the balloon floats upward, the gas inside expands due to a decrease in atmospheric pressure, thus expanding the balloon. At the apogee of the trip, the spaceballoon might vent gas in order to stabilize the pressure, and also to begin its descent back to Earth. The spaceballoon is specially designed to operate in the near-vacuum environment you will fly to, and its design is based on proven spaceballoon technologies to ensure a safe ride for everyone on board.
In order to carry the weight of the 8-person Spaceship Neptune capsule, Space Perspective’s spaceballoon is large enough to fit an entire football stadium (650 feet / 200 meters tall) inside when fully inflated.
