IMAGINE soaring through the atmosphere so high that the sky is black, though the sun is still shining, and you can look down on the blue Earth and see the curve of the planet – a whole state, hundreds of miles from side to side visible at the same time.
Imagine the sense of peace that comes with being 36 km high in silent, balloon-powered flight in an experience so exclusive that each flight will take just four passengers.
That was the vision of the not-too-distant future showcased by Jose Mariano Lopez-Urdiales, CEO of zero2infinity, who was at Blossom Japan to present his company’s innovations in space travel.
Currently, those wanting to go into space only have the option of rocket travel which is hugely expensive ($56 m for orbital space station flight and $200,000 for just seven minutes sub-orbital) and, though bookings are being taken, is not even fully operational yet.
Now Lopez-Urdiales plans to offer a less expensive version – though still expected to cost around $110,000 for a two-hour flight – which will be completely eco-friendly and is expected to be ready for commercial operation some time around 2013.
The Bloon is a high-altitude balloon which will support a luxurious, pressurised canopy capable of carrying four passengers and two crew/pilots to 36 km above the earth, twice as high as Concorde and three times as high as a normal plane.
In a five-hour trip, they will spend two hours at maximum altitude before the balloon is released, for controlled collection on the ground, and the basket, or pod, floats back to Earth propelled by a giant parachute.
Lopez-Urdiales said: “I always say we are purveyors of elevation, imagine sitting in a comfortable seat and going into the sky until the horizon blends and you can see for miles – it is the view of the earth that will make this experience so special.
“In the past space travel has always been through governments, I am an engineer and I believe that the future of space travel will actually be through the travel and tourism industry – just like with aviation, it initially had a military use but mass development came with its adaptation for civilian travel.
“The main thing with space travel is the view of the earth, it apparently lets people feel how fragile our planet is, and if it’s possible to get that view to lots of people in a way that’s safe and environmentally friendly then that’s got to be worth having.”