Every year brings us one step closer to realising our dream of space travel being accessible to the general public. When most of us think of travelling into space, we probably picture a rocket of some kind, but this is no longer the case. The alternative to this is Space Perspective, which takes what appears to be a more realistic approach to the scenario.

They’ve devised a plan to use SpaceBalloons to carry travelers 100,000 feet above the planet’s surface. The six-hour voyage from Earth’s surface to the upper atmosphere makes this option far more enticing than a rocket, as the journey itself is sure to be memorable due to the spectacular scenery. At the very edge of space, above 99 percent of Earth’s atmosphere, you’ll get two hours to take in the iconic astronaut vista, which includes the arc of Earth, the blackness of space, and the faint blue line of Earth’s atmosphere.

The Capsule - Spaceship Neptune

The Neptune Spaceship was designed to be the most user-friendly, environmentally responsible, and secure spacecraft orbiting Earth and the solar system. SpaceBalloon, Reserve Descent System, and Neptune Capsule are the parts that make up this. The capsule of the Spaceship Neptune remains attached to the SpaceBalloon from the moment of liftoff to the moment of splashdown, making for a smooth, safe, and gentle journey unlike any previous spacecraft.

The SpaceBalloon uses renewable hydrogen to propel the Neptune spaceship into orbit, doing away with the need for fuel-intensive rockets and the pollution they produce. The positive is that you don’t rocket off the ground; instead, you climb at a rate of 12 mph, making the experience accessible to anyone who is physically capable to fly with a commercial airline. The seasoned team has been using the balloon to lift research telescopes and other large, sensitive hardware for decades on missions with NASA and other government organisations.

Neptune has a secondary descending mechanism, consisting of four parachutes located between the capsule and the SpaceBalloon, in case the primary flight system fails. In the event of an emergency, the chutes can take over for the main systems without any noticeable lag time, guaranteeing a safe landing. Space organisations have employed this type of parachute on over a thousand flights spanning decades, and every single one of them has been a success.

The lounge inside the pressurised capsule can accommodate seven Explorers and the pilot. Inside, you’ll discover a bar where you may raise a glass to the clouds and a variety of scientific sensors and screens that provide real-time information on your journey. Bring your own plants and herbs like lavender, basil, and rosemary to use in the ship’s kitchen and bar. The lounge is large enough for Explorers to stand and move around in, and the reliable Wi-Fi connection ensures that you can stay as in touch with your loved ones back on the ground as you like.

The Founders

Jane Poynter Founder, Co-CEO & Chief Experience Officer

Due to her upbringing in Southern England’s coastal regions, Jane has always wanted to travel. Clare Frances’ trans-Atlantic adventure and Jane Goodall’s boldness and practicality, both influenced by her father’s entrepreneurial energy, sparked Jane’s interest. Jane sailed around the world and joined a research vessel in her early twenties, which led to her joining Biosphere 2’s first crew. Taber MacCallum was Jane’s shipboard business partner. A year at sea would prepare her for Biosphere 2. Her contributions to the design team were crucial to Biosphere 2’s conception and execution. Jane designed and maintained the project’s record-breaking plant growing systems, which provided food, water, and oxygen for the two-year mission. Biosphere 2 would show that knowledge of life on another planet easily transfers to Earth, facilitating future interplanetary colonisation.

Founder, Co-CEO and Chief Experience Officer of Space Perspective

Jane’s competence, knowledge, and love motivate her to have as many people as possible see Earth from space. Astronauts say seeing Earth from space changed their lives almost universally. An intimate encounter could inspire a worldview that includes all people and ecosystems. Alan Eustace, a Google executive, broke the global free fall record at Paragon in 2014. This became the successful StratEx project. 14 minutes from Earth showed Jane Alan’s enlightening experience and the transformative power of a new perspective.

Jane is Space Perspective’s co-CEO and chief experience officer, and it is her job to make sure that every Space Explorer who boards Spaceship Neptune has an unforgettable experience that sparks their imagination and leads them to adopt a more global view of space.

Taber MacCallum Founder, Co-CEO & Chief Technology Officer

Taber is well-known for his dedication to learning and improving himself. Early in his career, he was labelled a wünderkind, a genius, the wayward offspring of his upbringing and the circumstances of his birth. His experiences have shaped and enriched his decisions along the way, and now he and his wife, Jane Poynter, have founded the company Space Perspective.

Taber was born in New Mexico to an Australian psychiatric nurse practitioner and a U.S. astronomer. His father studied gamma rays with SpaceBalloonsTM, a wise choice. Taber thrived in this competitive environment and moved to Austin to finish high school. As with so many travellers before him, he fell in love with the world and its wonders. He started in Western Europe before taking the Trans-Siberian Railroad to the Soviet Union. After long conversations with locals, he realised we all have more in common than we don’t.

Founder, Co-CEO and Chief Technology Officer Taber MacCallum

Taber gained confidence and taught English in Japan before going to China. Taber was struck by the human condition’s universality. Taber joined a research vessel in Samoa that was filming around-the-world. Taber mastered scuba diving in Singapore. Jane was picked up in Sri Lanka and joined a pool of potential Biosphere 2 crew members. He was involved in the Biosphere 2 design process from the beginning. He designed Biosphere 2’s environmental lab. Biosphere 2’s lessons should inform new initiatives and discoveries.

Taber and Jane started World View Enterprises Inc. to create the stratollite, a solar-powered, unmanned stratospheric spacecraft that can carry out remote sensing and communications missions over lengthy periods of time. Taber refined the balloon’s navigation and control technologies while Jane was CEO. Because of this breakthrough, Bloomberg Business Week called Jane and Taber “Masters of the stratosphere.” The stratollite was featured on the cover of Aerospace America because it was being called “game-changing” in the aerospace sector.

Taber leads a group of brilliant engineers as Space Perspective’s Chief Technology Officer. His depth of expertise and dedication to the work instil confidence and drive throughout the organisation.

The starting price for a Space Perspective flight is $125,000, which is extremely competitive compared to the competition. The firm’s initial launches will take place in Florida, but eventually, the company plans to expand its operations to other countries. There is a tiered system of refundable reservation deposits, with the highest deposit required for first-year flights and progressively lower deposit requirements for trips in subsequent years.

Invites to special events, private tours, and other behind-the-scenes opportunities are just some of the ways in which Space Explorers are able to connect with one another and have fun doing it.

Tickets can be purchased from luxury travel planners or online at spaceperspective.com.