If you had 3 billion VND, what would you want to do? Buy land, start a business, buy a car? How about taking a journey to the upper atmosphere in a hot air balloon?
For just $125,000 (over 2.8 billion VND), you can now purchase a trip to the Earth’s atmosphere aboard Space Perspective’s luxurious hot air balloon. This week, the Florida-based company began taking reservations for its inaugural flight, which will launch from Kennedy Space Center in 2024.
The process of hot air balloon travel.
Passengers will float in the stratosphere within the Spaceship Neptune, a pressurized cabin connected to the hot air balloon, offering a 360-degree panoramic view of the surroundings and equipped with glare-free windows for photography. Amenities include reclining seats for relaxation, a restroom, a fully stocked bar, and of course, Wi-Fi so you can tweet about your space adventure to all your friends back on the ground.
The hot air balloon itself is as large as a football field when fully inflated and can ascend to approximately 30 kilometers, according to Space Perspective. And yes, this balloon comes with a backup parachute that can safely bring it back to Earth in case of emergencies.
Reserve a spot for just $1,000 (23 million VND).
You can reserve a spot for only $1,000 (23 million VND), or you can book all eight seats for just $8,000 (185 million VND). However, these are just deposits; the full experience costs $125,000 (nearly 3 billion VND) per passenger. The company states that the six-hour journey is designed to have a low impact on the body and does not require passengers to undergo special training or wear spacesuits.
“Those curious about space have often viewed it as too risky – or too expensive – now have the opportunity to experience the thrill of space travel, with a safe and gentle ascent,” Space Perspective said in a press release.
Additional unmanned test flights are currently underway.
The company achieved a significant milestone earlier this month after completing a test flight of Neptune One, a vehicle simulating the Spaceship Neptune. Additional unmanned test flights are currently in progress.
“Neptune One kickstarts our extensive testing campaign, allowing us to conduct experiments without a pilot, so when we have a full crew, Spaceship Neptune becomes an extremely safe way to travel into space,” CEO Taber MacCallum said in the press release.
With a full crew, Spaceship Neptune becomes an extremely safe way to travel into space.
The company has not confirmed how many tickets have been sold so far, but MacCallum’s wife and co-CEO of the company, Jane Poynter, told Florida Today that the response has been “extremely positive.” Space Perspective has privately sold tickets to gauge interest, and some of their initial flights have already sold out, she said.
“We have families wanting to go together. We have couples wanting to propose or hold their weddings.” If you’re interested, you can sign up here.