Called Spaceship Neptune, the company’s spacecraft will take tourists into the stratosphere, which sits above 99 percent of the planet’s atmosphere. The passengers will be inside a large bubble, essentially, with floor-to-ceiling windows for viewing, as well as a bathroom and a full bar.
The Neptune craft will be slowly pulled up into the stratosphere by a 200 m capsule mounted above it filled with hydrogen. It will take about two hours to ascend, spend two hours at its maximum altitude of about 100,000 feet, and then take two more hours to descend. The craft will land in the ocean and be picked up by ship, much like current spacecraft.
The first test flight is currently scheduled for early next year, but there’s no word yet as to when the first passenger flight might happen. Oh, and tickets won’t be cheap — current estimates put prices at about $125,000 per person.
