Space tourism is big business – but a suborbital ride on Richard Branson’s SpaceShipTwo and Jeff Bezos’s New Shepard, can cost as much as $500,000 (around £420,000).
To actually get into orbit will cost you over $50million (around £42million).
But a Japanese start-up has just revealed a comparatively budget-friendly way to approach the edge of space – as long as you’re brave enough.
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The company behind the venture, Iwaya Giken, has unveiled a tiny “hamster ball” capsule designed to be carried a helium-filled balloon to altitudes of around 15 miles.
That terrifying altitude remains 47 miles short of the official threshold of space but it’s a good deal higher than any commercial aircraft – and a very long way to fall.
The small, transparent, bubble will carry a pilot and one passenger and, because it’s not a powered craft there’s no requirement for “space” tourists to undergo any arduous training.
All they will need is courage.
It will take around two hours for the balloon to reach its maximum altitude, and once it reaches the 15-mile mark it will drift for around an hour, allowing the passenger to take in the majestic view, before returning gently to Earth.
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The company’s CEO Keisuke Iwaya says that the first brave souls to take up his offer will probably pay around 24 million Yen (£147,000). In time, though, he hopes to bring the price down to a few million Yen.
“It’s safe, economical and gentle for people,” he told reporters. “The idea is to make space tourism for everyone.”
He says it's his dream to “democratise space".
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But the no-frills nature of the ride may prove to be more of a barrier for potential customers than the price.
You’ll be sealed into an airtight five-foot-wide ball dangling beneath a flimsy-looking 144ft helium balloon for over five hours. It’s not an option for anyone that suffers from claustrophobia. Or flatulence.
And off course, there’s the additional risk of being targeted by a USAF fighter pilot.
Still, as a tourism experience, it beats Mallorca for bragging rights.
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