high altitude balloons Archives

March 6, 2023March 6, 2023 by Alan Boyle

Want to Soar to the Stratosphere? Japan Joins the Balloon Tourism Race

T-10 Earther capsule for Iwaya Giken's Open Universe balloon venture — A Japanese venture aims to send balloon tourists into the stratosphere in a pressurized capsule. (Credit: Iwaya Giken)

A Japanese company has put out the call for passengers who’d be willing to pay more than $175,000 for an hours-long ride in a balloon-borne capsule that will rise as high as 15 miles (25 kilometers).

Technically, that’s nowhere near the boundary of outer space, but it’s high enough to get an astronaut’s-eye view of the curving Earth beneath a black sky.

“It’s safe, economical and gentle for people,” the CEO of a startup called Iwaya Giken, Keisuke Iwaya, told reporters in Tokyo. “The idea is to make space tourism for everyone.”

Other companies are planning similar stratospheric tourist ventures. But if Iwaya’s venture sticks to its announced timeline and begins flying customers around the end of this year, it would be the first to get to market.

April 12, 2022April 12, 2022 by Alan Boyle

Get an Inside Look at Space Perspective’s Stratospheric Lounge (With Bar)

Interior design for Spaceship Neptune — A high-angle overview shows the interior design for Space Perspective's Spaceship Neptune passenger capsule. (Space Perspective

Mood lighting, swanky seats, plants, a bar … and a restroom with an out-of-this-world view: Those are the sorts of perks you’d expect on a luxury cruise, but the cruise that Space Perspective plans to offer with those amenities will take you 100,000 feet up, lofted by a balloon.

The Florida-based venture has just unveiled the interior design for its Spaceship Neptune capsule, which is meant to carry up to eight passengers and a pilot into the stratosphere for a look at the curving Earth beneath the black sky of space.

Space Perspective says more than 600 customers have put in their reservations at a price of $125,000 for trips that are due to begin in 2024. And to whet your appetite for the adventure, the company is offering an interactive 3-D visualization of the capsule that you can wander through virtually.

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September 26, 2018 by Evan Gough

Noctilucent Clouds Perform Delicate Dance for NASA’s Balloon-Cam

Noctilucent clouds, or PMC's, form high in the atmosphere above the poles. NASA launched a five-day balloon mission to observe and photograph them. Image: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Joy Ng

Noctilucent clouds are one of the atmosphere’s most ethereal natural wonders. They form high in the mesosphere, about 80 km (50 mi) above the Earth’s surface, and are rarely seen. In July, 2018, NASA launched a five-day balloon mission, called PMC (Polar Mesospheric Clouds) Turbo, to observe them and photograph them.

Continue reading “Noctilucent Clouds Perform Delicate Dance for NASA’s Balloon-Cam”

January 28, 2011April 26, 2016 by Nancy Atkinson

Sunrise Photos from the Edge of Space shot by College Team

A sunrise from the edge of space. Credit: Project Soar

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A college-age team of space and photography enthusiasts have created a fully reusable capsule that can travel autonomously to the edge of space using high altitude balloons. To date, their capsule, named PURSUIT has had four flights, reaching altitudes ranging from 24,000 to 36,500 meters (80,000 to 120,000 feet.) “We wanted to fly capsules to the edge of space and capture the most difficult imagery that other teams didn’t even bother trying,” said Project Soar team leader David Gonzales II. “Our capsules shoot high resolution stills and shoot HD video of their incredible journeys.”

Last fall, the team captured the stunning image above of a sunrise from space from about 25,000 meters above the Earth. “To our knowledge, Sunrise Soar II captured the highest resolution images of sunrise ever taken from the edge of space by a high altitude balloon flight,” Gonzales told Universe Today.

A sunrise above most of Earth's atmosphere. Credit: Project Soar

In images taken from over 36,000 meters, absent are the reddish sunrise colors that we see on Earth because of the atmosphere.

Their PURSUIT capsule cost about $500 to put together initially, but their total cost per flight is only $40.

The crew consists of twelve different students and recent graduates from various colleges. Gonzales said he formed Project Soar and put together the team as a hobby. The team hopes to do several more flights soon.

The Sunrise Soar team filling the balloon. Credit: Proejct Soar

See more images and videos, and read detailed reports about the team’s adventures at their Project Soar website.