You've probably heard the news about billionaire businessman, Sir Richard Branson, talking about Virgin Galactic and the upcoming launch of his commercial space flights later this year. A number of celebrities have been tied to this pioneering endeavor, including Ashton Kutcher, Katy Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Angelina Jolie, and Brad Pitt, the New York Daily News noted. About 600 have reportedly already forked over $250,000 for a chance to be on the maiden trip on SpaceShipTwo, The Telegraph added.
What about the rest of us? Are we to remain green with envy sitting on our patios staring out into the starry skies while the wealthier members of the human population are out there among those heavenly bodies?
Thanks to a rather daring company's efforts, the answer may be no.
"One company has a cheaper alternative - World View Enterprises is offering balloon flights to the 'edge of space' for £45,000 ($75,000)," The Daily Mail reported. "Beginning in 2016, the Arizona-based company will take paying customers in a pressurised capsule to a height of 19 miles (30 kilometres) - and it has just set a world record to prove the system works."
The company had launched a parafoil on June 18 from Roswell International Air Center in New Mexico "on a flight that lasted five hours, breaking the altitude world record for such a flight in the process," the British publication continued.
Jane Poynter, the company's CEO, said that the feat "broke the world record for highest parafoil flight, lifting a payload to 120,000 feet," as noted by Mashable.
"It went really, really, really well. Actually, the guys hit the ball out of the park. We're thrilled," Poynter said.
The said system "uses a balloon similar to that used to lift Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner 128,000 feet to make a world record-breaking 24-mile skydive in 2012," the tech news site explained.
Come 2016, the parafoil, in tandem with a high-altitude balloon, will be utilized to "take pressurised capsules known as 'Voyagers' on trips to the edge of space," The Daily Mail said. "This will give six passengers, along with two crew members, two hours of 'cruising' during which they will be free to stroll around the 'luxury' capsule - which even has a bar and internet access."
"With windows on all sides, guests above the Voyager will be given 360-degree vistas of the curvature of the world below," the British publication added.
Not bad! Plus, this is even longer than Virgin Galactic's 6-minute estimated flight time.
Will you be saving up and lining up for this trip?