World View to Charge $50,000 for Epic Balloon Rides to the Stratosphere
Arizona-based company World View Enterprises has announced it is back in the space tourism sector with plans to charge $50,000 per person for flights into the stratosphere. The firm's massive balloon will lift a passenger capsule to nearly 19 miles (30 km), allowing eight passengers and two crew members to spend between six and 12 hours taking in the view of Earth's surface.
The flights, which will not include zero-gravity experiences, are expected to launch from the Grand Canyon but the company has ambitions to include other departure points including the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Serengeti in Kenya, the Amazon in Brazil, the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, and the Great Wall of China in Mongolia. World View's cost is "noticeably lower than any other civilian space tourism flight available today", said the company, which also plans to provide flexible financing options for customers.
World View has used high-altitude zero-pressure balloons for several years, which will avoid the risk of explosion by using helium as its lift gas; safety is the company's "primary objective", it said.
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