OUT OF THIS WORLD

The co-CEO and founder of Space Perspective, JANE POYNTER, talks to Jing Zhang about launching space travel’s very first luxury experience.

- Jing Zhang

The commercial space race has been dominated by headlines from Bezos, Branson and Musk. Their rocket ships herald a new era in space flight and tourism for a select few. Hot on the heels of these high-profile space bros is another relatively more accessible offering that aims to offer an altogether gentler, more luxurious experience.

Imagine sipping on a martini, taking a deep breath and gazing over the blue layers that demarcate the edge of the atmosphere as the sun edges up slowly in the curved horizon. You’re dressed in your favourite cocktail outfit and cast your eye, scanning the coastline below, a star’s view of where land slowly meets the oceans on planet Earth. It might sound more like science fiction, but it’s closer to reality than you think.

Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum, partners in business and life, have launched a unique experience on board the groundbreaking, pressurised Spaceship Neptune – a luxury cruise experience in the sky. Travellers in a piloted pod will ascend into the edge of space, about 30km high, using flight technology used for decades at Nasa – another of Poynter and MacCallum’s companies, Paragon Space Development Corporation, has supplied life-support system equipment to the agency for years – and state-of-the-art space balloon engineering.

Space Perspective’s trips will enable eight people, plus a pilot, in each Spaceship Neptune capsule to experience 360-degree views of space, the stars, sunrises and sunsets, as well as epic views of Earth. The six-hour, the once-in-a-lifetime journey can be shared with friends and family, and even be the setting for special events, such as small weddings or concerts.