A spaceflight company is taking weddings to new heights, both literally and figuratively, by offering couples the chance to tie the knot while floating above the Earth.
Tourists who want to travel to the edge of space can book reservations with Space Perspective, an American company that has designed a large, pressurized capsule called Neptune that can seat up to eight passengers and two crew members. Its large panoramic windows offer breathtaking views of the Earth that’s sure to provide an awe-inspiring experience, especially for wedding couples.
What makes the capsule lift to about a hundred thousand feet (or 30,000 meters) above the Earth’s surface is a giant balloon, which relies solely on renewable hydrogen to propel itself upwards at a leisurely pace of 12mph. Without rockets and therefore no carbon emission, this is a guilt-free eco-friendly travel experience. Space Perspective claims Neptune is the world’s only carbon-neutral spaceship.
Commercial flights on the spaceship Nepture are scheduled to start later in 2024. But if you want to be among the earliest to be on board, you’re out of luck. Over 600 tickets, which cost $125,000 each for the six-hour roundtrip, have already been booked in advance, indicating high demand. Space Perspective is currently accepting reservations for 2025 with a $1,000 booking fee on their website.
Space Perspective was founded by two former crew members of the Biosphere 2, an experimental research facility working on simulating self-contained ecological systems for potential future space colonization.
As for the technology behind Neptune, it’s one that has been proven and refined through extensive research and engineering. Per the Space Perspective website, NASA and other government agencies in the US have been using this kind of technology to lift telescopes and other delicate research instruments.
Given that outer space is a vast, inhospitable environment that poses harsh conditions for humans, safety is of paramount importance in space travel. Space Perspective said it developed Neptune to offer a “seamlessly safe and gentle flight.” Safety features include hyper-resistant materials, anti-UV coating, and a backup descent system.