The team at zero2infinity is moving forward with plans to offer extreme-altitude balloon rides, and recently sent a scale model soaring to an altitude of more than 104,000 feet.
Zero2infinity, founded by MIT-educated engineer José Mariano López-Urdiales, hopes to provide a cheaper, more relaxing way for tourists and scientists to experience “near-space” altitudes by ascending to nearly 120,000 feet (36 kilometers) in a pod suspended beneath at 400-foot-diameter balloon. That is well short of the 100 km or so promised by Virgin Galactic and others developing suborbital spacecraft, but López-Urdiales argues it will provide a similar view for far less money.
The scale model, called the microbloon 2.0, has a two meter diameter and includes a model of the pod that will carry passengers. López-Urdiales says it performed well, supporting his vision of a comfortable ride where passengers will be able to see the blackness of space and the curvature of the earth.
“It’s very exciting to be this close to flying people on bloon,” he said in a press release. “The environmental conditions inside the pod remained comfortable at all times.”
Microbloon 2.0 flew earlier this month in Spain and took about an hour to reach 31.8 km (104,330 feet). It maintained that altitude, flying horizontally for two hours before descending and making a parachute landing. This is the same basic kind of profile zero2inifinity would like to provide passengers, complete with panoramic windows.
In the coming months López-Urdiales and his team will analyze the data from the flight.
López-Urdiales likes to point out that the first people to see the earth from above didn’t do so from an airplane or spaceship, they saw it from a balloon. Unlike the ballistic trajectories promised by space tourism companies like Virgin Galactic, the bloon will provide hours instead of minutes to take in the scenery. Granted Virgin Galactic promises weightlessness on its ballistic trajectory, and an altitude of nearly twice as high. But if you just want to see the view and enjoy the ride, a high altitude balloon may be just the ticket.
Zero2infinity Wants to Send You 120K Feet Up — In a Balloon
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Zero2infinity Wants to Send You 120K Feet Up — In a Balloon
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Zero2infinity Wants to Send You 120K Feet Up — In a Balloon
