THIS is the incredible moment a luxury space balloon soars into the sky and sees the curve of the Earth in a test flight. Footage shows the luxurious Spaceship Neptune take off from a ship in the middle of the ocean and soar into the heavens. The high-tech tourist balloon flies right up to the edge of space, 100,000ft high, and then leisurely returns to the ground.
At its zenith, cameras capture a jaw-dropping view of the blue earth with black space set against it. A team back on earth monitors the ship through sensors as they try and get it ready to take humans . The clip of the test flight, posted to YouTube by owner Space Perspective , shows the second development flight.
Read more on science They hope the vessel will be one a new generation of adventure tourism craft which offer rides to extreme points of the world. Space Perspective said the test flight checked a number of key life systems for keeping passengers safe. One of those life systems is a bathroom with windows, allowing someone to look out onto the globe while using the loo.
The flight up to space and back lasts six hours, but travellers will be able to use Wifi and will sit in luxurious comfort. Most read in Science They said: "Spaceship Neptune is poised to offer a transformative six-hour experience to the edge of space. Propelled by our SpaceBalloon, it will carry Explorers at a gentle 12 mph pace.
"Aboard, you will find a comfortable and luxurious experience—complete with a Space Lounge, a proper restroom.