Richard Branson to take balloon ride to edge of space

Richard Branson is taking to the skies again, this time hitching a ride to the top of the Earth’s atmosphere in a Space Perspective balloon.

The mission, planned for 2025, was announced in the wake of a successful development flight in September when an uncrewed test capsule was taken 100,000 feet up and back during a six-hour trip.

Further uncrewed tests are scheduled before Space Perspective founders Jane Poynter and CTO Taber MacCallum board the capsule for the first crewed test flight.

Branson, an investor in the company, will join the founders, according to an announcement on X. He said: “Some of the most magnificent experiences of my life have happened on ballooning expeditions and I’m excited to support Space Perspective in its journey.

“I’m passionate about adventure and helping fellow entrepreneurs reach their business dreams. I look forward to dusting off my old ballooning license ahead of some magnificent test flights.”

Branson’s Virgin brand has been associated with several space-related ventures. Virgin Orbit, which aimed to launch rockets from beneath the wing of a Boeing 747, shut down in 2023. Virgin Galactic, which sends passengers on a sub-orbital lob in a spaceplane, is still operational and rocketed Branson to 85 km (53 miles) in 2021. Virgin Galactic flights are on pause while the company works on the successor to the spaceplane that carried Branson.

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The Space Perspective flight will be a more civilized affair. For one, the capsule will carry restroom facilities and fully stocked bar. The mission will also take six hours from launch to landing – two hours up, two hours looking at the Earth, and two hours back down again. The capsule, Neptune, will carry eight “Explorers” and a captain, and has a pressurized volume of more than 60 cubic meters (2,000 cubic feet). The nature of the flight – a gentle 12 mph (19 kph) rather than the parabolic arc flown by Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity – means there won’t be any weightless shenanigans. However, the views are sure to be impressive.

Branson is famously no stranger to balloons with cabins hanging beneath, although the Neptune is much more advanced than those used in the Bearded One’s adventures over the years. In the 1980s and 1990s, he crossed the Atlantic and Pacific by balloon.

Space Perspective’s balloon is the same type as that used by NASA and other agencies to fly payloads to a high altitude. Should something go wrong, the Neptune is also equipped with parachutes. According to the company, the capsule’s windows are the largest ever flown to space. We’re certain the “space” part of that claim will be hotly debated since, at an altitude of 100,000 feet, the balloon will not cross the Kármán line, which lies at 330,000 feet or 100 km (62 miles).

Once operational, Space Perspective will charge $125,000 per seat on a flight. ®