Japanese Startup Invites Passengers to Experience What Astronauts Feel in Orbit via Balloon Capsule

Iwaya Giken, a Japanese startup, is offering an extraordinary opportunity for those who are willing to pay over $175,000 for space tourism, according to a report by Universe Today.

The trip would last several hours in a capsule lifted by a balloon that will ascend as high as 15 miles (25 kilometers) above the Earth's surface, providing an astronaut's perspective of the planet below.

Although the height is not technically the boundary of outer space, it is high enough to see the Earth's curvature against a black sky.

Accessible Space Tourism

According to the CEO of Iwaya Giken, Keisuke Iwaya, the experience would be "safe, economical, and gentle for people," with the aim of making space tourism accessible to everyone.

Although other companies are also developing stratospheric tourist ventures, Iwaya's company is set to be the first to get to market if it begins flying clients around the end of this year as announced.

Since 2012, Iwaya Giken has been developing the Open Universe Project and testing smaller balloons at lower altitudes.

The flights will employ a pressurized two-seater capsule that is five feet (1.5 meters) wide with all-around windows.

The company began accepting online applications last month, and the first five passengers will be selected in October. Flights are expected to take off from the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido in December or later, subject to weather conditions.

Space Excursion Experience Fee

Iwaya Giken plans to offer an outer-space experience with a unique approach to space tourism by using a high-altitude balloon. This will allow passengers to ascend gradually for two hours with the balloon's pilot, spend an hour observing the view, and then return to sea level.

The "space excursion experience fee" will be roughly $176,500, including tax, which may seem expensive compared to a typical airplane ride, but it is more affordable than a trip to orbit on SpaceX's Falcon 9 capsule, which costs about $55 million, or a suborbital space trip with Virgin Galactic, which costs $450,000.

The outer-space boundary is defined as 50 miles by the Federal Aviation Administration and 62 miles by the International Astronautical Federation. The company is also offering the "T-10 Earther" capsule for sale at $735,000.

Additionally, three Spanish firms, Zero 2 Infinity, EOS X Space, and HALO Space, have plans to offer stratospheric balloon tours to space tourists, with commercial flights expected to commence in 2024 or 2025.