FAQs

General

• When are you going to fly?

  Our first commercial space flights are planned for late 2024.

• What is the price per seat on a flight?

  $125,000 USD per explorer.

• Is a deposit required?

  Yes. A refundable deposit of $1000 USD is required to secure your spot on one of our flights.

• Is the deposit refundable?

  Yes. The deposit is 100% refundable until such time as the final balance payment is due—around 12 months prior to the planned flight.

• What are my payment options?

  We accept all major credit cards, wire transfers, and select cryptocurrencies.

• What happens after I make my deposit?

  After your deposit has been received, you are part of the Space Perspective community. You will receive regular updates via email and social media, and exclusive event invitations such as major milestone celebrations and behind-the-scenes tours of our facilities. In addition, you will have the opportunity to meet fellow Space Explorers and build bonds to last a lifetime.

Flight

• How many passengers can fly together in the capsule?

  Eight Explorers and the Space Perspective pilot.

• If I confirm an individual seat, can I still assemble a group of friends to join the same flight?

  We will make every effort to ensure you’re able to experience space flight with your friends and family. We are able to offer some flexibility around group deposits—please contact us for more information.

• If I do not confirm a full capsule, will I know in advance who I will be flying with?

  Yes. You will have the opportunity to meet your fellow Explorers pre-flight, and will be a lifetime member of the Space Perspective community once back on Planet Earth.

• How long is the flight?

  The flight will last approximately six hours, from launch to landing. Spaceship Neptune will ascend for two hours, float at its apogee of 100,000 ft (30 km) for two hours, and descend gently over two more hours before splashdown in the ocean where a ship awaits.

• What can we expect to see?

  Explorers aboard Spaceship Neptune will be treated to the breathtaking views that have transfixed astronauts since the dawn of the Space Age. You will ascend into a night sky full of stars, look down at our planet, and watch the sun rise over its curved horizon, illuminating the thin, bright blue line of our atmosphere. You will be able to see about 450 miles in all directions through the almost 360-degree panoramic windows.

• How big are the windows?

  The windows are the largest ever flown to space, allowing almost 360-degree panoramic views of Earth from space while standing and seated.

• Will there be wifi aboard the flight?

  Yes. You are welcome to livestream your experience and connect with loved ones down on Earth.

• Will there be onboard cameras capturing the experience?

  Yes. The entire experience will be captured with both interior and exterior video and stills. This is likely to be one of the most well-documented six hours of your life!

• Is there a bathroom on board?

  Yes.

• Are food and beverage allowed onboard?

  Certainly. Spaceship Neptune is equipped with a fully-stocked bar, ready and waiting for champagne toasts at the edge of space. We will also provide a culinary experience during the flight.

• How big is the SpaceBalloon™?

  It is 18,000,000 cubic feet in volume when fully expanded. That means if a football stadium could fly, it would be able to float around inside a fully-inflated SpaceBalloon™. When Spaceship Neptune is standing ready for launch, the SpaceBalloon™ stands over 700 feet tall. That’s taller than the Vehicle Assembly Building on Kennedy Space Center where Apollo’s Saturn V rockets were erected, taller than the Space Needle in Seattle, significantly taller than the Washington Monument on the National Mall in D.C., and a bit shorter than the Eiffel Tower.

• Will I experience weightlessness?

  Weightlessness (aka zero gravity) is the result of freefall. People experience it on orbit because the spacecraft is going at 17,500 mph and is literally falling around the planet – the speed counteracts gravity. Neptune goes to space at 12mph so you will not experience weightlessness.

Before and After

• Is any preflight training required?

  No special training is required, making this the most accessible spaceflight experience available. You will be required to participate in preflight programming to help fully immerse yourself in the experience. These programs will cover everything from a comprehensive safety briefing, to a walkthrough of the Spaceship Neptune, to an overview of what will happen outside of the capsule during ascent and descent.

• Are there any physical health requirements to fly aboard Spaceship Neptune?

  Unlike a rocket flight with high g-forces, the Space Perspective experience is designed to be gentle and comfortable. If you are medically fit to board an airplane, then you are well-suited for this journey. There may be special, individual circumstances requiring one to obtain a physician’s approval. Please contact us with any further questions.

• Is there an individual weight limit for prospective Explorers?

  No. There is currently no individual weight limit for Explorers. Our capsule is designed to comfortably seat eight Explorers and our pilot.

• How big is the capsule?

  The capsule Space Lounge is roomy, providing ample space for Explorers to get up and easily move around during the flight, perhaps even assemble at the bar to grab drink together! It is about the size of a large balcony stateroom on a cruise ship.

• What happens after the flight?

  Upon splashdown, you will be collected by Space Perspective and brought back to terra firma for a post-flight celebration. Bespoke post-flight experience will be crafted on a flight-by-flight basis with your participation. Long term, there will be continued community gatherings, in-person and virtual, where you will have the chance to share your experience and connect with fellow Explorers. You will forever be a part of the Space Perspective community.

Sustainability

• How is Spaceship Neptune zero-emissions?

  Instead of accelerating to space with high-energy rockets that fight against gravity, Spaceship Neptune uses gravity through buoyancy. The gas inside the SpaceBalloon is lighter than the surrounding air so it literally lifts the balloon and capsule up to come to equilibrium above 99% of Earth’s atmosphere where it floats, like an ice cube floating on water. To descend the Spaceship releases a tiny amount of gas that turns into water, so the vehicle is technically near-zero emissions.

• What happens to the balloon at the end of the flight? Do you leave it in the sea or throw it away?

  The entire spaceship is reused many times except the material the SpaceBalloon is made of. At the end of the flight, our team retrieves the SpaceBalloon and recycles it. We are already upcycling some of the material as well. For example, the bartop inside the capsule is made with recycled SpaceBalloon.

• How is the company carbon neutral?

  We continually work to reduce our overall carbon footprint. Our operations still produce carbon emissions, which we offset through projects that remove our CO2 from the atmosphere for us. We offset our 2021 carbon emissions with Cool Effects. We also carefully choose vendors who continually strive to be sustainable. For example, our swag, cleaning products, even furniture are sourced from vendors who work to reduce their impact on our global biosphere.

Safety

• What happens if the balloon breaks or pops?

  The SpaceBalloon is a well-tested technology that has been flown by NASA and other governments over 1,000 times so it is inherently safe. It is what is technically called a “zero-pressure” balloon, meaning there is little to no pressure difference between the interior and the surrounding environment. So it cannot pop. In the unlikely event there is a hole in the balloon envelope, it simply descends very slowly and floats down to a safe landing.

  We must be prepared for any eventuality so there is a Reserve Descent System between the capsule and the balloon that can safely land the capsule at any time during the flight. It is comprised of parachutes that are the type that have flown payloads and people from space over 1,000 times without failing.

• What safety measures do you have in place?

  Spaceship Neptune is inherently safe with its highly-tested SpaceBalloon and Reserve Descent System. Additionally, unlike any other human spaceflight vehicle, Neptune’s capsule remains connected to the primary flight system the entire journey – it ascends and descends under the SpaceBalloon. This eliminates the complexity of switching to another flight system mid-flight, and means that the Reserve Descent System is always the backup system.

• How much testing will Spaceship Neptune undergo?

  Spaceship Neptune is undergoing rigorous flight testing. The spacecraft can operate without a crew onboard, which allows our team to put the backup systems through their paces in ways that they could not if a crew were along for the ride. This results in a formidable test regime for the entire flight system and backup systems, which verifies the vehicle's operational safety.

• Why does Space Perspective use hydrogen and is it safe?

  There are two gases that we could use to lift Spaceship Neptune to space – helium and hydrogen. Helium is a non-renewable gas in extremely limited supply, and we would compete with hospitals for MRIs and other medical equipment, and other critical uses. The National Weather Service has run into shortages and has switched to hydrogen for its weather balloons.

  We are part of the rapidly growing modern hydrogen economy. Hydrogen is renewable and used worldwide in fuel cells and increasingly in cars, trucks and even airplanes. Hydrogen is demonstrated to be a safe gas for use in balloons, in fact thousands of human-crewed balloons have been flown using hydrogen since the dawn of flight in the 1700s without a single recorded flight incident attributed to hydrogen.