Start-Up World View Sells 1,000 Tickets for Balloon Trips Near Edge of Space
World View, a space balloon start-up based in Arizona, has sold 1,000 tickets for flights to the edge of space as early as 2024. The company uses helium-filled balloons to lift passengers to 23 miles above the Earth, offering views of the curvature of the planet and the starry sky above. The six to eight hour experience costs $50,000 per seat, considerably less than the price of a spaceflight ticket with Virgin Galactic.
World View plans to launch its flights from locations such as the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the pyramids of Egypt. Flights from the Grand Canyon have sold out for the first year of operations, the company said in a statement.
World View is now the most sought-after space tourism operator in the world, with the longest waiting list of all companies, according to its statement.
The company requires a $500 deposit to join the list, compared to the $150,000 requested by Virgin Galactic. The Florida-based Space Perspective and Zero2Infinity of Spain are also planning space-balloon tourism businesses.
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