Want to Travel to Space? In 2024, Balloons Might Take You Part of the Way There
Soon there will be an option that addresses space tourist's concerns about environmental impact and costs, according to companies that plan to send passengers into “space” via high-altitude balloons. There are no face-contorting “high Gs,” training isn’t required and trips don’t release carbon emissions either.
Stratospheric balloons aren’t new — they’ve been used for scientific and weather research since the early 20th century. But transporting groups of paying passengers in them is.
Mention hydrogen with either airships or balloons and “everybody’s mind goes back to the Hindenburg — that’s the picture they have,” Robert Knotts, a former engineering officer with the U.K.’s Royal Air Force and current council member of England’s Airship Association, said, calling the incident a “major PR problem” for the gas.
World View’s CEO Ryan Hartman told CNBC that its space tourism balloon flights, which are scheduled to launch in 2024, will be powered by helium. After noting that “our company is a very different company today,” he said: “Our decision … is purely from a perspective of wanting to do something that is as safe as possible for passengers.” He called the use of hydrogen to carry passengers to the stratosphere “an unnecessary risk.”
Hartman said hydrogen is used to launch balloons when “the risk is low,” which makes sense, he said, because it’s cheaper and is a very high-quality lift gas.
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