Central Florida space tourism company Space Perspective hit a milestone Friday in its goal to begin carrying passengers in a space balloon with launches from Cape Canaveral.
Its test vehicle Neptune One took off from the Space Coast Spaceport in Brevard County at 5:23 a.m. achieving an altitude of 108,409 feet, or more than 20.5 miles, while crossing the state from east to west and splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico during a 6 hour, 39 minute flight.
“I could not be more proud of the performance of the team and the flight system. It was spectacular to witness the teamwork and the high level of expertise yield such a successful result,” said co-CEO and founder Taber MacCallum in a press release.
MacCallum and co-founder Jane Poynter, known for living for two years isolated from the world in the Biosphere 2 habitat in the 1990s, have stated they expect to fly with paying customers as early as late 2024, with tickets to run about $125,000.
Flights will carry up to eight passengers plus the pilot on a six-hour journey aiming to reach 100,000 feet, an altitude at which passengers will glide for up to two hours before descent.
“It is an incredible privilege launching from the Space Coast, where the history of human spaceflight was forged over the past decades and continues to build momentum today. Flying on Spaceship Neptune will be an extraordinary experience for our space explorers,” said Poynter.
The test flight in Neptune One used a full-size capsule simulator that mimics the shape of what will be on the tourism balloon that will be named Spaceship Neptune. The test flights do not require a pilot.
It did carry some payloads, though, including the winning projects of students in grades 7-12 from a competition run by educational nonprofit Higher Orbits. They included experiments to measure the sun’s magnetic field and effects of space on memory materials to see if they could hold a shape. In addition, the University of North Florida flew ozone sensor equipment.
The flight makes the company the first operator to fly from Space Coast Spaceport, which is adjacent to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Frank DiBello, president and CEO of Space Florida, released a congratulatory statement after the test.
“This flight highlights the reality of Florida again at the leading edge in space research, tourism, and commercial capabilities,” he said. “We look forward to the coming milestones for Space Perspective as they prepare to take private citizens to space.”
More information is at thespaceperspective.com.
