Japanese Startup Unveils Airtight Cabin & Balloon To ‘Democratize’ Space Travel

Up, up, and away into the stratosphere. As of now, commercial space tourism is exclusive to those who can afford it. One Japanese startup seeks to flip the script with a space-viewing balloon capsule envisioned to widen the market for otherworldly trips. Though, to call it attainable for the greater population would still be a stretch.

Sapporo-based Iwaya Giken’s bid for the space race has been in the works since 2012. It’s been a long time coming, but the company has now announced forthcoming balloon tours with its two-seater cabin, which is airtight and buoyed by helium, in a long-term partnership with major Japanese travel agency JTB Corp.

The drum-shaped plastic cabin, measuring 4.9 feet in diameter, is designed with several windows so passengers can peer into the black sky or over the familiar planet situated beneath their feet.

The idea was to develop a “safe and low-cost” option that relies on lighter-than-air gas, rather than rocket fuel, to take people to an altitude where space observation is possible. CEO Keisuke Iwaya explained to journalists on Tuesday that the metallic sphere extends explorations to wanderlusters who aren’t billionaires and haven’t had the necessary training to handle low-gravity environments.

The firm, which aims to “democratize space,” is calling its ambitious venture the Open Universe Project. 

To be clear, the vessel won’t enter outer space but to the middle of the stratosphere, at an altitude of 15 miles. With that being said, it will still rise higher than a jet plane and offer sweeping views of space.

The capsule will safely hover above Japanese territory or airspace, and where the curve of Earth will still be plainly in sight.

A journey starts out at a balloon port in Hokkaido, lifting the pilot and passenger up for two hours. The balloon and cabin will then stay in the stratosphere for an hour, before making an hour-long return home. Most of the helium used on this trip can be recycled, says the company.

Iwaya Giken anticipates that its first flight will take place later this year.

The company’s CEO told reporters that this method will be “safe, economical, and gentle” for an untapped market of space voyagers. Its goal is to “make space tourism for everyone.”

However, this remains a sky-high promise, as initial trips with the balloon will set travelers back about ¥24 million (US$180,000). Over time, however, the company projects that ticket prices will be reduced to tens of thousands of dollars—still an astronomical amount by the books of the majority.

Applications for early flights have opened and will run through August, and the startup will reveal its first five fliers—who will set off a week apart from each other—in October.

[via Associated Press, The Register, PR TIMES, images via Open Universe Project]