This Giant Balloon Will Take You to the Edge of Space—For Just $50,000
World View, a space tourism startup, has teamed up with PriestmanGoode to create a space balloon that will lift passengers 100,000 feet above the earth, in flights from the Grand Canyon starting in 2024, for $50,000 a ticket. While not technically entering space, the balloon will take passengers high enough to see the curve of the earth from above.
The interior of the capsule has been designed by PriestmanGoode, a UK design firm which has also worked with Airbus, Qatar Airways and United Airlines. Passengers will experience a slow ascent into the atmosphere and will be able to view the earth through a 5-foot-wide window.
World View joins other companies including Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, which are also offering space tourism, and Space Perspective, which is charging $125,000 for a 360-degree viewing room. The startup's challenge was to create an experience that would celebrate the earth without spoiling it for the passengers.
The cabin has been designed in a hexagonal shape, optimized for pressurization and fairings, which are panels on the outside of the craft that give the capsule a unique look and improve aerodynamics.
Passengers will be able to walk around the cabin during the journey, but the windows are the core of the passenger experience. Passengers will have a 5-foot-wide window through which they can view the earth.
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