BBC Knowledge Asia Edition - December 2014

inside the balloon expands. The balloon
continues to rise until the density of the
thinning air is the same as that of the
helium and balloon.
During the ride passengers will have
the chance to tweet and communicate
with the ground. “We want this
experience to be as interactive as
possible,” says Poynter. Some flights
could also include experts on board to
provide commentary. Once it has reached
a height of around 32km (20 miles), the
capsule will remain there for 1.5 to 2
hours, allowing you to see the curvature
of the Earth and experience a new view of
our home planet. The return trip begins
with the pilot releasing helium from the
balloon, before the ParaWing (a type of
parachute) takes over to glide the capsule
back to the ground. Technically the
balloons can go higher than 32km;

SARAH CRUDDAS is an astrophysicist,

TV presenter and science journalist

according to Inggs there is a height limit

of just below 40km (25 miles).

Of course nothing is 100 per cent

risk-free, and space travel is inherently

dangerous, but World View is keen to

explain that what it’s doing is very different

to the rocket-based companies. “We are

building safety into the vehicle. The

ParaWing is permanently open, so the

capsule is essentially a glider at any

moment,” says Poynter.

Competition for space

Test flights of the balloon have taken place

with models of the capsule, but plans for a

maiden passenger flight at the end of 2016

are not set in stone. World View isn’t the

only game in town, however. A company

called Bloon is promising to take two pilots

and four passengers to a height of 30km

(100,000ft) and will offer dining from the

edge of the Earth, as well as scientific

experiments. It hopes to have passenger

flights by 2016 and is already running test

flights with scale models.

What’s certain is that when passengers

finally fly, they’ll be transported by balloons

that are big – very big. At sea level, 1m^3 of

helium can lift 1kg. By the time you’ve

added the weight of the balloon itself to the

weight of a 4,000kg capsule, you’re already

talking about a weight of 6,000kg. To lift

that would require at least 6,000m^3 of

helium, and probably more. The balloon

would need to be 22m in diameter. Bloon’s

Annelie Schoenmaker says its capsule will

be lighter, at around 2,000kg, though this

would still require an enormous balloon.

For anyone worried about the impact this

could have on the ongoing helium

shortage, Schoenmaker says, “Helium is

the best option in the early stages, as it is

very safe and efficient, but it could be

replaced in future by other gases or mixes

of gases without impairing safety.”

So will Bloon or World View beat Virgin

Galactic? Well, not really. Comparing

space balloons with the likes of Virgin

Galactic, Brad Inggs says: “The two are

really separate in altitude; you can’t view it

in the same bracket.” In other words, even

if World View or another balloon company

like Bloon were to take passengers up first,

they technically wouldn’t beat the likes of

Virgin Galactic and XCOR as the first to

take tourists into space.

Doubts remain, however, about whether

any of these commercial enterprises will

ever succeed. But the president of the

Commercial Spaceflight Federation,

Michael Lopez-Alegria, is confident. “It

won’t be long before tourists are heading

into space,” he says.

“There are no

real physical

requirements to

travelling in high-

altitude balloons”

Brad Inggs, CEO of Orbital Horizons

You’re not technically in space, but

at 120,000ft (36.5km) the curvature of

the Earth is clearly visible. This image

was taken from World View’s prototype

during a test flight in June