Billionaire Richard Branson has been announced as the co-pilot of Space Perspective’s first crew mission in a space balloon next year.
In a statement released on October 17, the Florida-based space tourism company said that Branson will fly the Balloon alongside co-founder Jane Poynter and co-founder and CTO Taber MacCallum.
Space Perspective is excited to announce that @richardbranson will co-pilot Space Perspective’s first crewed test flight next year, alongside Founder, Jane Poynter and Founder and CTO, Taber MacCallum.
This comes after our historic Development Flight 2 in September, where our… pic.twitter.com/nx0pCA9nkd
— Space Perspective (@SpacePerspectiv) October 17, 2024
The announcement comes a few weeks after Space Perspective completed the test flight of its spacecraft Neptune-Excelsior. The entire test from launch to landing lasted six hours.
Space Perspective’s idea of space tourism is to tie a capsule to a hydrogen-powered balloon which will ascend to an altitude of 1 lakh foot or 30 kilometres. The passengers won’t feel weightless as the boundary of space begins beyond the Karman Line about 100 km from the surface. But Branson has already been to space during his flight in 2021.
Check out the journey Spaceship Neptune-Excelsior made a few weeks ago from our Mission Control at the Space Coast Regional Airport to Marine Spaceport (MS) Voyager at Port Canaveral, ahead its recent Development Flight 2 launch.
The transit through Kennedy Space Center and… pic.twitter.com/IBMRqt1FPF
— Space Perspective (@SpacePerspectiv) October 1, 2024
“Some of the most magnificent experiences of my life have happened on ballooning expeditions and I’m excited to support Space Perspective in its journey,” Branson said about his upcoming flight.
“I’m passionate about adventure and helping fellow entrepreneurs reach their business dreams. I look forward to dusting off my old ballooning license ahead of some magnificent test flights,” he added.
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Branson, who also owns a space tourism company Virgin Galactic, is known for breaking ballooning world records by crossing the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in 1987 and 1991 respectively. He is also one of the investors in Space Perspective.
Branson and his co-pilots will be accompanied by five other tourists whose names are undisclosed. They will spend six hours in the flight, enjoying the views from the Neptune capsule which offers luxuries like spa and fine dining.
Regular flights in the space balloon is expected to begin in 2026. Space Perspective is already accepting deposits for the flight in its ‘carbon-neutral’ flights. You can reserve a seat for $1,000 or Rs 84,000. The total cost of one seat is approximately Rs 1.05 crore.
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(Image: Instagram@RichardBranson/X@SpacePerspective)
