Space Tourism Is Getting Cheaper Thanks to an Airtight ‘Cabin’ Attached to a Balloon

Trips to the edge of space currently require spending millions of dollars, but a Japanese startup believes it can get the price down into the tens of thousands while allowing you to enjoy the view 15 miles up for an hour.

As AP News reports(Opens in a new window), Keisuke Iwaya, CEO of Iwaya Giken, has been working since 2012 on a cheap way to offer consumers a trip into the stratosphere and high enough to see the curve of the Earth. His solution is an airtight container (1.5 meters in diameter) with room for two people which is attached to a balloon.

The so-called airtight “cabin” is called the T-10 Earther, according the Iwaya’s Facebook page(Opens in a new window), and it counts as the first that will go into production. There were nine prototype cabins produced before the design was perfected. As the image above shows, it has quite a retro look about it.

Iwaya says the balloon is capable of carrying the T-10 Earther 15 miles (25 kilometers) above the Earth. Only one passenger is allowed as the other seat is reserved for a pilot, and the balloon takes two hours to reach its maximum height. Once there, the occupants can enjoy the view for an entire hour before the descent begins, which takes another hour to complete.

Initially, securing a seat in the cabin costs around $180,000, but Iwaya is confident that can be reduced down to just five figures eventually. It’s also expected to be a relatively eco-friendly way to travel as the balloon is filled with helium, which can be reused after each trip.

Applications to be considered as a passenger are opening this week, but it’s currently unclear how you go about applying. The first five passengers won’t be revealed until October, and to begin with, Iwaya Giken is aiming to perform one trip per week. That should give the company plenty of time to convince the US government its balloons aren’t being used for spying.

Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has already launched 20 missions offering a brief trip to the edge of space, while also figuring out how to make solar panels on the Moon. SpaceX is still planning to send Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the Moon and already has a second commercial Moon spaceflight planned with Akiko and Dennis Tito as passengers.