Please use this topic to discuss World View Enterprises and to loft passengers 19 miles (30 kilometers) into Earth's atmosphere using a high-altitude balloon.
gliderpilotuk Member
Posts: 3413 From: London, UK Registered: Feb 2002
posted 10-23-2013 09:37 AM
I'd take a flight in a U-2 or Mig-25 over that any day.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48678 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 10-23-2013 09:51 AM
With regards to comparisons to the MiG-25 — or for that matter, XCOR's Lynx — it's all about priorities. If you want to go because you want to "rocket" to altitude, being pressed back into your seat on the climb up, then sure, a jet experience is for you.
But if your desire is to see Earth, and perhaps more pressingly, film or photograph the planet below, World View's capsule looks to provide the more stable and enabling platform. Even the U-2, which can stay at altitude just as long (if not longer), the canopy limits your field of view, whereas the cupola-like windows on the World View capsule appear to provide panoramic vistas.
Having once sold rides on the MiG-25 to 18 miles high and screened the footage returned from such trips, I would personally choose the World View experience over the Foxbat.
p51 Member
Posts: 1748 From: Olympia, WA Registered: Sep 2011
posted 10-23-2013 01:51 PM
Hmm. Same folks who promise they'll do the Mars fly-by... someday.
While it's far more plausible than many of the other promises companies like this have made in recent years, I'll still file this under the, "I'll believe it when I see people stepping aboard for the actual trip" heading.
That said, assuming they really do this. I wonder if this will be fully presurized capsule or if everyone will have their own pressure suits. I for one wouldn't dream of stepping into something like that without personal protection from rapid depressurization.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48678 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 10-23-2013 02:05 PM
Jane Poynter and Taber MacCullum both founded Paragon Space Development Corp., which is also involved with Inspiration Mars, but the two organizations are separate.
(Alan Stern is also leading up Golden Spike Co., which is developing commercial lunar flights.)
World View apparently has the financial backing of Philippe Bourguignon, a former president of Euro Disney, and the VegasTech Fund.
quote:Originally posted by p51: I wonder if this will be fully presurized capsule or if everyone will have their own pressure suits.
Based on the video, which is of course only conceptual, the capsule has a shirt-sleeve environment.
tnperri Member
Posts: 507 From: Malvern, Ohio Registered: Jun 2011
posted 10-23-2013 10:50 PM
I personally would like to try it. Anyone got 75 grand they can donate to me?
Skyguy48 Member
Posts: 142 From: Scotland Registered: Jun 2011
posted 10-24-2013 05:05 PM
I went with Space Adventures on the Mig 25 flying over Moscow, It was such a humbling experience to be on the "other side of the sky" and to see the thin mist that keeps us all alive that is our atmosphere. The English language does not have the words I felt after that trip.
However, being in an air breathing Foxbat it can only stay up there for minutes, so, yes Robert I would fully agree that the balloon trip would be something very special indeed.
Frewi80 Member
Posts: 120 From: Hawaii. Waipahu Registered: Jun 2006
posted 12-21-2014 08:48 PM
Breathtaking Space Video Previews What World View Voyagers Will Experience
You see a lot of animation but not an 'actual' take off or landing... Just curious about that landing part!
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48678 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-19-2017 03:22 PM
A World View balloon exploded Tuesday (Dec. 19), shaking parts of Tucson, Arizona, Tucson News Now reports.
The company confirmed the incident and said no one was injured.
Several Tucson News Now viewers reported hearing a loud boom, seeing white smoke and feeling the ground shake near the Tucson airport.
World View said the [following]:
"Following the completion of a successful fill test on the launch pad, a significant balloon rupture occurred which was reportedly heard in the local area," World View said in a news release. "We have reached out to reassure our immediate neighbors. There were no injuries and only superficial facility damage at the site. The flight system itself was unaffected."
SpaceAholic Member
Posts: 5108 From: Sierra Vista, Arizona Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-12-2018 03:06 PM
Bloomberg video interview with WorldView's co-founder and CEO Jayne Poynter.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48678 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 10-04-2021 09:19 AM
World View video
World View is on a mission to design a space tourism experience that is more accessible and affordable to more humans. We believe space tourism should be about time, place, affordability and accessibility. Watch World View CEO, Ryan Hartman, share our vision for space tourism.
Posts: 5108 From: Sierra Vista, Arizona Registered: Nov 1999
posted 07-12-2022 03:52 PM
World View, the leading stratospheric exploration and space tourism company, hired three new industry experts to establish and lead a new safety program that includes the company's testing and safety protocols ahead of human space flights starting in 2024.
Just waiting for the first Truth in Advertising lawsuit against World View's claim that it is conducting human "spaceflight" missions.
posted 10-22-2013 02:10 PM
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