Couples Could Have Their Weddings in Space by 2024

Varieties

July 22nd, 7:16am

Asharq Al-Awsat

This undated image provided by World View shows World View capsule and balloon spacecraft that will rise to 100,000 feet above Earth for passengers to see curvature of the planet and the blackness of space. (AP).

Would you get married in space? Couples could have their weddings inside a capsule carried by a stadium-size balloon 100,000 feet above Earth by 2024 - but tickets will set you back $125,000. Florida-based firm Space Perspective is currently selling flights on its capsules for $125,000 (£91,000) that will gift voyagers 'insane' views of Earth, according to The Daily Mail. Capsules carried by the firm's giant space balloons will take up to eight guests into the stratosphere, 100,000 feet (19 miles) above our planet's surface, for a trip that lasts six hours. Customers have already bought up entire capsules for group events and some even want to have their weddings there, according to the firm, which started selling flights at the end of June. Others may celebrate their milestone birthday aboard a capsule, the firm claims. Passengers will be able to feast their eyes on 360-degree views of Earth while inside the capsule, which comes complete with a bathroom, bar and on-board Wi-Fi. In June, the company's test vehicle, Neptune One, successfully launched from the Space Coast Spaceport, adjacent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Space Perspective is led by husband and wife team Taber MacCallum and Jane Poynter and based in Florida, who recently spoke to the Observer about the interest they've received since flights went on sale. Spaceflights for 2024 are sold out, but customers can still book their seat now for 2025, according to the firm's website. Launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center and flown gently by a spaceballoon instead of rockets, a ride on the zero-emissions capsule offers 'the thrill of space and the comfort of calm', the firm claims. Space Perspective will be about relaxation – it will move at only 12 miles per hour during ascent and descent. "It takes about two hours to get to the 30 km altitude. During the ascent you'll be able to see as far as 450 miles in every direction, so you'll see the entire Florida peninsula, the Bahamas down through the keys over into the Gulf of Mexico," Poynter said.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3092616/couples-could-have-their-weddings-space-2024