See the world from the edge of the space in the ‘Bloon’

With Virgin Galactic inching closer to conduct its first planned flight to the space, we are at the verge of entering into the new era of commercial space travel. While booking a seat on the Virgin Galactic space odyssey currently is close to impossible as there is already a humungous waiting list for it, but a Spanish company named Zero2infinity has come up with an ecologically friendly for near-space experience. ‘Bloon’, a zero-emission craft designed for commercial near-space flight by the Barcelona based team, is a module with a giant helium balloon that can float up to the altitude of around 36km above the earth (22 miles) and gives a view of approximately 1,400km in diameter of our planet. What it means is that flyers in Bloon will be able to see Paris and Rome at the same time.

bloon-2Two years back when Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner jumped from the edge of the space as a part of the Red Bull Stratos project, along with breaking the sound barrier on his descent he also broke the unofficial record for the highest manned balloon flight by reaching the final altitude of close to 39km (23.3 miles). 8 million people saw the event live on YouTube, and a set of cameras fixed on the outside of the capsule relayed some breathtaking shots of the Earth from the edge of the space. Those flying with Bloon will get a similar out of the world experience. Bloon uses inert helium gas for lift and doesn’t employ any dangerous substances like combustible fuels. The craft has a central pod with full windows housing up to four passengers and two pilots. Eight vented airbags and a guided parafoil with conical backup are used for descent and landing. And thanks to the lack of rocket engines, Bloon can take-off from anywhere. Pre-bookings are open for 2014 and 2015 and the flight is priced at £380,000 (around $651,770).

Also read -  Ever wonder how much it would cost to live on the moon? Residents could pay $325,067 a month in mortgage for homes with meteor proof windows, solar panels and greenhouses.

[In-Bloon]

bloon-3

bloon-4

Tags from the story
Written By
Sayan Chakravarty, a Senior Writer at Luxurylaunches, brings over 10 years of automotive journalism expertise. He provides insightful coverage of the latest cars and motorcycles across American and European markets, while also highlighting luxury yachts, high-end watches, and gadgets. An authentic automobile aficionado, his commitment shines through in educating readers about the automotive world. When the keyboard rests, Sayan feeds his wanderlust, traversing the world on his motorcycle.