Spaceship Neptune

MAIDEN VOYAGE IN THE AIR

Journey Beyond

While 2020 has been a turbulent year for commercial aviation, exploration into space travel has continued to accelerate. This year has seen test flights, rocket launches, landings and talk of spaceports, but perhaps one of the most interesting innovations is a spaceship designed with the passenger experience in mind.

With commercial space travel edging ever-closer, PriestmanGoode has worked with Space Perspective to develop a high-performance balloon and pressurised capsule that will fly to the edge of space. “Neptune is the culmination of a longterm collaboration that has resulted in the only spaceship that is designed with the human experience at its core and will pave the way for the future of commercial space travel,” explains Nigel Goode, co-founder of PriestmanGoode. “We looked at all the different elements that would make the experience not just memorable, but truly comfortable.”

Designed from the inside-out, the vessel features comfortable seating as well as all the essentials needed for a six-hour trip. “We wanted to make sure that passengers would be able to get 360-degree unobstructed views and that we created an efficient space that would enable them to move around during the journey,” Goode continues. “Meanwhile, we needed to minimise weight and create a highly functional environment for the pilot. All these elements guided the shape of the final capsule.”

Flown by a pilot, Neptune will take up to eight passengers to the edge of space, where only 20 people have been before. Following a gentle two-hour ascent, the spaceship will cruise at an altitude of 100,000ft, above 99% of the Earth’s atmosphere, where there’s time to relax and take in the sights. The balloon attached to the top of the capsule then allows for a leisurely descent into water, where a ship retrieves the passengers and the spacecraft.

The first un-crewed test flight is scheduled for early 2021 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. If successful, day trips could soon be on the horizon.