This Bonkers Space Balloon Just Completed Its First Full Test Flight

Talk about floating to the top of the world.

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Space Perspective made the first successful full test of its 700-foot-long space balloon and eight-person capsule on Sunday. The hydrogen-filled balloon and capsule rose 100,000 feet to the edge of space and then splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico during the six-hour test. A milestone for the space tourism company, this initial test proved the concept works. It will now need to undergo successive unpiloted and piloted tests. This first successful flight should also make its space-tourism model more attractive to investors.

“Completing Development Flight 2 is a defining moment for us,” said Taber MacCallum, cofounder and chief technical officer of Space Perspective in a statement. “This uncrewed flight not only proves our pioneering technology but also brings us a giant leap closer to making space accessible for everyone.”

The company, based on Florida’s space coast, is charging $125,000 for a seat on its eight-person Spaceship Neptune capsule. It’s promising a luxe, lounge experience that includes large windows for viewing Earth and edge of space, a bar, reclining seats, and an enclosed toilet. It has partnered with Mercedes to offer a top-end Maybach EV as official transport. The company has even announced that Michelin-star chef Rasmus Monk will host and prepare a meal during the six-hour flight.

The initial flight was more than just a test: It was also the first time its MS Voyager ship , which was only recently brought to Florida, was used. The vessel was designed for launching and retrieving the balloon and capsule at sea, rather than blasting off on land.

Robb Report visited the vessel about a week before the test, as it was readied for the voyage from Florida’s east coast to the Tampa area on the Gulf Coast, where the test took place. It was an impressive setup, with massive four-roller structure on the deck that resemble giant spools and a capsule at the rear where the balloon attaches. The spools slowly pay out bits of the space balloon, which is about the size of two football fields, as it’s filled with hydrogen.

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The visit also came on the day before a Coast Guard inspection, so dozens of workers were on the deck, preparing the vessel for both the inspection and initial balloon tests. The launch-and-retrieval vessel is the only one of its kind in the burgeoning space-balloon business to operate on water. Its competitors will launch and land from land. Space Perspective was aided by SpaceX, whose capsules also splash down into the ocean, with the design of its waterborne retrieval system and operations.

MS Voyager is also designed as a mini-mission control center. Monitoring and control equipment up on the bridge coordinate with the company’s main control center in Titusville. The company said the capsule, which was filled with computers and monitoring equipment, maintained cabin pressure and stability at peak altitude.

“Our advances in marine spaceport technology, spacecraft design and flight standards are setting new standards for space exploration,” said Jane Poynter, cofounder of the company, in the statement.

Data from the flight will be used for future unpiloted and piloted test flights. The company said it has raised $100 million from investors and currently has more than 1,800 ticket holders for its flights, which should begin commercial operation in 2026.

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