It seems like every few days there comes news of another credible effort for commercial spaceflight. Soon the citizen astronaut will have her pick of companies. But this one really stands out to me. Instead of riding a column of fire, Zero2Infinity‘s Bloon, is designed to take you to the edge of space, in slow, gentle, and spacious comfort.
It’s a relatively simple concept. A helium balloon takes you 22 miles high and after a 3-hour visit to near space, it turns into a giant parachute bringing you back to earth in a similarly gentle way. The big plus to me is the length of the experience, which is easily 20 times longer than the rocket rides. The big con would be missing out on weightlessness, since you would not achieve orbit. Still, I like the looks of this one.
Check out their website for more info, including a short video.
Would you ride a Bloon?
EDC
Edward D. Casey 