The year is 2024. You’re in Australia, all packed for the last leg of your trip to your dream vacation destination. You take out your phone, order a flying taxi and check the status of your food order. At that exact moment, a drone whirs above your head and as you look up, it slowly descends until it is at eye level. It hands you your food alongside a thank you note and makes a quick ascent. Just then, the flying taxi arrives and you hop in. The driver asks you where you’re going and you reply, “the space station.”
Ok, that is a bit of a reach. Companies are still working on making flying taxis a reality, and regulatory bodies are still trying to figure out how to make the airspace safe for daily commute. Delivery drones however are already a reality, even though they are only really used for specific purposes, as in the case of Rwanda where Zipline drones are used to deliver blood and other crucial medical supplies. Companies like Amazon are looking to increase their use though.
Commercial space flights are here too, even though they are not so mainstream due to the cost. Last year, Space Perspective said it will start flying civilians to space by 2024 for a whopping $125,000 per passenger.
Commercial space vacations seemed open only to the likes of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and anyone else they chose to carry along. Until now.
World View, an Arizona-based company, is now offering you the chance to travel to the “edge of space” for $50,000 per seat. The first test flight is slated to launch in 2023 from Spaceport Grand Canyon and commercial flights will begin in 2024.
What to expect
World View will eschew traditional jet fuel for a more natural resource, and as such will take off using a giant helium-filled balloon. The capsule is designed to slowly lift passengers at 10-12 miles per hour, so they will not experience G-force or turbulence. This should take 2 hours after which the ‘spacecraft’ floats at an altitude of roughly 100,000 feet for 3-4 hours before it then returns to Earth using a parasail, which can be deployed in the stratosphere and allow for a smooth descent.
During the float in space, passengers will be able to stand and move around the craft, which features a pressurised, climate-controlled cabin, oversized windows for 360-degree viewing and ergonomic fully reclining seats as well as custom dining options and full beverage service.
World View has created a Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Stratospheric Edition to give passengers a truly unique experience that goes beyond just floating in space. All flights will depart from state-of-the-art spaceports located in various iconic places. For example, in 2024, passengers can fly to space from either the Grand Canyon in the US or the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Then from 2025 onwards, passengers can also choose to depart from Serengeti in Kenya, Norway’s Aurora Borealis, Amazonia in Brazil, Egypt’s Giza Pyramids, or the Great Wall of China in Mongolia.
According to World View President and CEO Ryan Hartman, the goal is to allow people to see things like the animal migrations in the Serengeti or the aurora lights from the edge of space. “It has to be something of wonder, it has to be something where people can connect to the Earth,” Hartman had said.
If you have ‘travel to space’ on your bucket list, you may want to consider World View’s $50000 space flight. Especially considering that there are financing options available and you can now reserve a ticket with a deposit of just US$500.
Source: DMarge