An advertisement from World View Enterprises:
Your View of the World Is About to Change
Majestic views of our planet, slowly expanding below, are certain to captivate you, as you ascend to the edge of space. The transition from horizon to the blackness of space will thrill you. The luxurious comfort and gentle glide of your vessel will spoil you for hours, while you sip your beverage of choice. The curvature of the Earth will simply take your breath away. A truly transformative human experience.
They plan to start selling tickets — $75,000 each — in a few months, but the commercial flights probably won’t start for another three years. For more information see Company Plans to Balloon Tourists to the Edge of Space.
My guess is a lot of people will be interested, but I’d rather stay down here and play with my toys. What about you?
I would rather spend a fraction of that to watch the same on the TV or via a DVD. I am a terra ferma man.
Me too!
No, I wouldn’t be interested in actually doing it. However, it’s because of the expense, not the desire to experience it. When I was a teen, living only about 30 miles or so from the Manned Spacecraft Center, I dreamed of being an astronaut, like so many of my generation.
If someone paid for the trip would you say yes? If you had a choice between the balloon trip or a ride on Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship 2 which would you pick? What if the offer included any trip on earth?
If someone else paid for the flight, then, yes. If it were a choice between this and Spaceship, it would depend upon whether I could pass the g-force test or not. If the offer included any trip on earth, I’d have to evaluate my options, but this would still be very high on my list.
I’d be afraid I’d be sucked into a black hole. It has such powerful gravitational force.
The balloon doesn’t go high enough for it to be completely out of the official atmosphere, so that wouldn’t be problem.
At moments like this I realise how introverted I am. I just don’t see the appeal.
If someone offered me a free trip I might go to see the view. I would bring my Kindle packed with books along for the boring parts of the trip.