Jane Poynter, cofounder of Space Perspective, believes that space tourism is inspirational
Blue Origin’s success in space tourism has raised concerns among the public and well known figures such as Prince William who believe it is a rich man’s game that is unnecessary when Earth is in desperate need of help.
For Jane Poynter, 59, co-founder of Space Perspective – a firm using a giant balloon to send humans into the stratosphere – the industry is not starving the Earth of help, but helping its inhabitants better understand their world.
She stated that space exploration played a key role in our understanding of the planet.
“Earth Rise” is the most downloaded image in history. It was taken by Apollo Astronauts on Christmas Eve 1968 as they circled around the moon.
Although they didn’t have time to take the photo, they were so impressed by the image they ran to get it.
“One photo of Earth from space helped humanity see Earth and instilled a new environmental movement.
“The Apollo era inspired two generations to become engineers and scientists, and not only to pursue careers in space, but also to remind themselves that they could achieve anything they set their minds to.
‘That was the saying – ‘if we can go to the moon, then surely we can do x.’ Spaceflight has the extraordinary ability to inspire people of every age.
Poynter said that eventually millions of people will experience the same experience as William Shatner, a 90-year-old actor who launched on a Blue Origin rocket in October 13.
She added, “And it will have ripple effects through our society.”
Space Perspective tickets are currently $125,000 per person. But Poynter said that the long term goal is to bring down prices.
“A ticket price of $30-$40K would allow many million people to experience Earth from this perspective.
Poynter said the industry is not starving our world of help, but helping its inhabitants evolve. She is the founder of Space Perspective that will send humans to the edge of space by means of a giant balloon sometime in 2024
Poynter responded to DailyMail.com when asked about Prince William’s comments.
They see the thin blue line that runs through our atmosphere and know that we are all in it together.
It broadens their outlook and they return with a deeper commitment towards social and environmental causes.
Imagine a society in which thousands, hundreds of thousands, and eventually millions of people have traveled to space. It will have a massive ripple effect throughout society. It will forever change the world.
According to Poynter (who sees Space Perspective as a part the mission), we have seen many people from all walks go where only astronauts have gone before this year.
The Duke of Cambridge had earlier this month criticized the race for humanity to leave Earth. He said instead that the world needs the greatest minds and minds ‘fixed upon trying to repair this globe’.
She also explained that Spaceship Neptune by her company is an emissions-free way to travel into space, and Space Perspective is carbon neutral.
Space Perspective was founded in 2020. It is creating a luxurious capsule for six passengers. They can relax in reclining seats, or have a drink at the bar while they fly 20 miles above Earth.
Imagine yourself getting up at dawn, it is dark outside, and being handed a drink while you sit down in a comfortable chair. Poynter said that you then slowly travel 12 mph to space.
“The sky is completely dark. This allows you to see stars like never before. Then, you will begin to see the sunrise.
“What happens at this altitude? It creates amazing rainbows, and then the sun starts coming up, allowing for you to see that iconic blue line that Shatner was referring to after his epic journey.
The entire experience is $125,000 per ticket. This is less than Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin. A seat on the former costs $250,000, while Blue Origin has not disclosed pricing.
Poynter said that eventually millions of people will experience the same experience as William Shatner, actor who launched on a Blue Origin rocket in October 2013.
Poynter said she hopes to make the trip on her own aboard Space Perspective’s giant balloon.
She added, “I believe space travel is inspiring.”
“My generation was all over the Apollo program, which inspired 2 generations of my generation. People can imagine what they could become beyond what they have ever imagined.
“Human spaceflight is capable of seeing things that they otherwise would not be able to.”
“Even with that, it will have an enormous impact on our society and will create all sorts of things we can’t imagine.”
Space Perspective announced that it has raised $40 million in Series A funding, which was led by VC firm Prime Movers Lab To finance the venture.
Space Perspective will launch a test-flight of its balloon next year. This mission will involve one person by the early 2023. The first commercial flight will take place one year later.
Space Perspective was founded in 2020. It is creating a luxurious capsule for six passengers. They can relax in reclining seats, or have a drink at the bar, while the capsule flies 20 miles above Earth.
The amazing thing about this altitude is that it creates incredible rainbows, and then the sun will start rising, allowing you see that iconic blue line Shatner was talking of after his epic journey.’ Poynter stated to Dailymail.com
Shatner became the oldest person to visit space earlier this month, surpassing 82-year-old Mary Wallace ‘Wally’ Funk, when he launched with three others aboard a Blue Origin rocket.
Shatner, most well-known for his role as Captain Kirk on Star Trek, shared his experiences with the world upon his return.
He said, “Everyone in the world must do this.” “To see the blue color disappear and now you’re staring at blackness, that’s what it’s all about.
“The blue sky is the covering, this sheath or blanket, that we have around us, we say, “Oh, that was blue sky.”
“And then suddenly you shoot through everything, and you’re seeing into blackness, into dark ugliness.
Poynter claimed that millions of people would eventually have the same experience like William Shatner (2nd left), who launched on the Blue Origin Rocket on October 13th. ‘And it’ll have a ripple effect throughout our society.
“As you look down, you’ll see your blue down there with your black up there. There is Mother Earth and comfort and there is — is there death? I don’t know. Is this the way death is?
“I don’t know. Was that the end of life? Is this the way death is?
Breaking into tears, Shatner then told Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos: ‘I’m so filled with emotion with what just happened. I hope that I never recover from it.
Entertainment Tonight also heard from Shatner, who said that Prince William had ‘got it wrong’.
The actor argued that space tourism is the first step to relocating polluting industries off of the Earth — and the creation of power stations in orbit.
CAN SHATNER’S EXACT TIME COMMENTS BE POSTED IN HERE?
THE BILLIONAIRE SPACE RACE: HOW BRANSON MUSK and BEZOS ARE vying for GALACTIC SUPREMACY
Jeff Bezos pictured in front Blue Origin’s space capsule
Elon Musk, Sir Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson are all part of the ‘NewSpace” set. They claim that they were inspired to do the first moon landing in 1969 by the US, which beat the Soviet Union in space race.
Amazon founder Bezos looked set to become the first to fly to space. He had announced plans to launch aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft on the 20th of July. But Branson beat him to it.
The British billionaire became Virgin Galactic Astronaut001 nine days before Bezos when he flew to space in a suborbital plane.
Bezos travelled to space on July 20 with his younger brother Mark, Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old physics student whose dad purchased his ticket, and pioneering female astronaut Wally Funk, 82.
Musk, SpaceX founder and Tesla founder, has said he wants space travel and that he will even die on Mars. However, he hasn’t said when he might go into orbit. But he did purchase a Virgin Galactic flight ticket for a suborbital flight.
SpaceX was the first operator of’space tourism’ to send a civilian crew into orbit. The Inspiration4 mission was funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman.
Elon Musk, a space-obsessed billionaire and space-obsessed billionaire built the Dragon capsule and SpaceX rocket that took him to orbit on September 16. He was going higher than the International Space Station.
SpaceX appears to be leading in the billionaire space race, with many launches carrying NASA equipment to orbit and partnerships to send tourists up to space by 2021.
On February 6 2018, SpaceX sent rocket towards the orbit of Mars, 140 million miles away, with Musk’s own red Tesla roadster attached.
Elon Musk in his Dragon Crew capsule
SpaceX also took two groups of astronauts to [International Space Station] with crews from NASA, ESA, and JAXA.|International Space Station, with crew from NASA, ESA and JAXA, the Japanese space agency.
SpaceX has been sending 60 satellites into orbit in order to help create its Starlink network. It is currently in beta and provides high-speed internet access to rural areas.
Virgin Galactic and Branson have a different approach to conquering outer space. It has repeatedly, and successfully, conducted test flights of the Virgin Galactic’s Unity space plane.
The first took place in December 2018 and the latest on May 22, with the flight accelerating to more than 2,000 miles per hour (Mach 2.7).
More than 600 affluent customers to date, including celebrities Brad Pitt and Katy Perry, have reserved a $250,000 (£200,000) seat on one of Virgin’s space trips. The final tickets are expected cost to be $350,000.
Branson previously stated that he expected Elon Musk to win Mars race with his private rocket company SpaceX.
Richard Branson in the Virgin Galactic craft
SpaceShipTwo is capable of carrying six passengers and two crew members. Each passenger is given the same seat with two large windows: one to each side and one above their heads.
The spaceship measures 60 feet in length and has a cabin measuring 90 inches in diameter. This allows astronauts maximum freedom to float in zero gravity.
It climbs to 50,000ft, before the rocket engine ignites. SpaceShipTwo separates from White Knight II, its carrier craft once it has travelled 50 miles.
Passengers are ‘astronauts” when they reach the Karman Line, which is the boundary of Earth’s atmosphere.
The spaceship will then travel suborbitally for approximately six minutes, with an average flight time of approximately 1.5 hours.
Bezos revealed in April 2017 that he finances Blue Origin with around $1 billion (£720 million) of Amazon stock each year.
The system includes a crew capsule that is pressurized and mounted on top of a reusable New Shepard booster rocket.
The capsule reached 65 miles (104 kms) at its peak. This was just short of the official threshold for space. It landed vertically seven minutes following liftoff.
Blue Origin is working on New Glenn – the next generation of heavy lift rockets that will compete with SpaceX Falcon 9.