The drum-shaped plastic cabin is 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) in diameter. And several large windows allow a view of space above or the Earth below.
Japanese startup aims to make space affordable
The balloon, which can carry a pilot and a passenger, would take off from a balloon port in Hokkaido, rise for two hours, stay at an altitude of 25 kilometers for one hour, and then descend for another hour.
Unlike a rocket or traditional hot air balloon, Iwaya Giken’s vessel will be lifted by helium. And it is reusable for this purpose. Flights should be able to safely stay above Japanese territory or airspace.
Although it does not actually go into low-orbit space, it flies higher than a jet plane.
Initially, a flight would cost about 24 million yen ($180,000), but Iwaya hopes to eventually bring the cost down to several million yen (tens of thousands of dollars).
Applications for the space viewing ride opened on Tuesday and will continue through the end of August. The first five passengers selected will be announced in October, and flights will be approximately a week apart, depending on the weather.
