Forget Virgin Galactic, Take A Balloon To Space

World View Enterprises of Tucson, Arizona has claimed their balloon tests have be successfully completed, in what could be come the first high-altitude balloon capsule being developed for tourists to travel around 20 miles above the Earth’s surface. The first tests have given the company the world record for the highest parafoil flight, lifting their payload to a staggering 120,000 feet. The system used is similar to the one used by Felix Baumgartner to make his record breaking sky dive back in 2012.

The last test was the first to test all the components of the system together, but only used a balloon one third of the size of the passenger model they intend to develop. The flights are not as high as Virgin Galactic, which can reach some 60+ miles, taking you into actual space, but at 20 miles up your still going to get a great view of the curve of the earth and the black of space that will be unlike anything else before it, unless of course you were on Galactic the week before.

The big advantage to World View is that their ticket price is a much more affordable $75,000 per person, almost £200k cheaper than a ticket on the Galactic flights. Flights on the balloon will also be a much more relaxed affair, taking a few hours to descend from the maximum height and featuring a capsule that passengers can walk around in.

Thank you Guardian for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of TMCnet.