Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Company Wants You to Visit Near-Space In Their "Bloon"

Posted by samzenpus on from the more-up-than-up dept.

cylonlover writes "While space tourism efforts by the likes of Space Adventures and Virgin Galactic are relying on the tried and true technology of rockets to launch paying customers into space, Barcelona-based company zero2infinity proposes a more leisurely and eco-friendly ride into near-space using a helium balloon called the bloon. Designed to carry passengers to an altitude of 36 km (22 miles), an unmanned scale prototype bloon was flown to an altitude of 33 km (20 miles) last year and the company is already taking bookings for passenger flights that are expected to lift off sometime between 2013 and 2015."

22 of 135 comments (clear)

  1. Sounds cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    1) But we're running out of helium.

    2) You want to go up? Book a MiG-25. We already have private "space tourism" at this level of hopelessly deluded definition of "space tourism". And?

    1. Re:Sounds cool by couchslug · · Score: 2

      I'd take the kinesthetic experience of the MIG over the balloony visuals any day.

      As a USAF crew chief I got a backseat ride in an F-16D, puked for most of it, and would do it again in a heartbeat!

      Rich Slashdotters:
      Buy the fucking fighter ride. As to safety, balloons don't have flight controls or ejection seats. Ask around and of course cash speaks louder than words. You can figure how much most of their overhead is if you can find local jet fuel prices.

      Quick Google yields this:
      http://www.thirtythousandfeet.com/rentride.htm

      "d) can you eat a meal in the back seat of a MIG-25 while watching the scenery go by?"

      Most people don't eat when they are getting laid. Using the "fuck metric", a fighter ride is worth MANY fucks. Go for it.

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
    2. Re:Sounds cool by Chris+Burke · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'd take the kinesthetic experience of the MIG over the balloony visuals any day.

      I'll take whatever gets me the closest to seeing the planet earth from space, soonest, and cheapest. I'll worry about other considerations like how exciting the ride itself later when picking my 2nd and subsequent trips. So let's see how it shakes out...

      Mig-29: 22km, available today, $25,000 (see the "price list" .pdf link, last page).

      Bloon: 36 km, 2013-2015, and $150,000.

      The Bloon has a significant altitude advantage, but that's irrelevant compared to the price difference! It may get cheaper at some point in the future, but that just means it fails on the 'soonest' criterion. Sure, I may not exactly have $25k (+ travel) lying around to spend on a Mig-29 flight, but it's clearly the best, most feasible option for me in the near future.

      The Mig-29 wins! Then the fact that it's a jet fighter is just awesome-icing on the awesome-cake. :)

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    3. Re:Sounds cool by Jason+Levine · · Score: 2

      Running out of helium? Won't someone think of the children of the future? Those poor kids unable to enjoy chipmunk voices! Oh, the humanity!

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    4. Re:Sounds cool by edremy · · Score: 2
      Actually, the He situation is both serious and an example of government at it's worst

      He is critical for a ton of stuff involving serious cooling. Ever had an MRI? Superconducting magnets, cooled by liquid He. It's not replaceable since nothing else liquifies at 4K

      The government has run a stockpile for decades, since it's a byproduct of some natural gas wells. But we can't have the government running something successful, so they have to shut down the He reserve. To do this, they are dumping it on the open market at far less than cost, so we have really cheap He for a bit longer. After that, who knows? Maybe private industry will step in, assuming they can find a way to make enough money at it. Expect prices to skyrocket.

      --
      "Seven Deadly Sins? I thought it was a to-do list!"
    5. Re:Sounds cool by TheCabal · · Score: 2

      You're watching the wrong kind of porn

    6. Re:Sounds cool by MDMurphy · · Score: 2

      Most people don't eat when they are getting laid.

      That's what chocolate pudding skin singles were made for!

  2. Saving extra energy by avoiding the shift key by amorsen · · Score: 2

    The company is saving extra energy by employing a strict lower-case policy. Lower case for higher altitude.

    --
    Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
  3. Kind of unsafe? by Darkness404 · · Score: 2

    I don't know, but balloons just seem rather unsafe when compared to a jet. If the balloon (or Bloon) pops, you are screwed. If a jet loses power in its engines, it still is a decent enough glider to safely get you to the ground in most cases.

    --
    Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    1. Re:Kind of unsafe? by Jeng · · Score: 3, Informative

      It descends on a parachute, I'm sure they even have a back up for that.

      --
      Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
    2. Re:Kind of unsafe? by geogob · · Score: 2

      I have to agree. We fly stratospheric balloon for atmospheric research. I wouldn't want to climb into one of those thing... especially for the landing. Even with the chute, that thing still comes down on its crash pads (yes, crash pads) at 10 m/s. You got at least 10g deceleration on impact. Not cool.

      Plus, you'll never get me at 33 km without a pressure suit.

    3. Re:Kind of unsafe? by GameboyRMH · · Score: 3, Interesting

      What about the U-2? (the spyplane, not the awful band)

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    4. Re:Kind of unsafe? by NonUniqueNickname · · Score: 5, Funny

      In the unlikely event of the helium balloon bursting, the captain will yell the evacuation procedure in a chipmunk voice and everyone will die, of laughter.

    5. Re:Kind of unsafe? by Chris+Burke · · Score: 2

      What about the U-2? (the spyplane, not the awful band)

      Wait wait, let's not be hasty. I would like to see a side-by-side comparison of the high-altitude gliding capabilities of these two options. You know, for, uh, science.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    6. Re:Kind of unsafe? by frenchbedroom · · Score: 2

      Kittinger's impressions when he jumped off that platform at 102k feet was that there is no sense of acceleration, no sense of speed, because you're in a near-vacuum and there are no points of reference at this altitude for you to see how fast you're going. You're too high up to see how fast the ground is coming at you. He had to turn around and look at the gondola rocketing into space to understand that yes indeed, he was falling.

      Besides, eventually you're going to decelerate because the atmosphere is getting thicker the closer you get to the ground, and it offers more resistance. So I don't think there's anything scary about free-falling from the edge of space. I'd bet those rides at amusement parks where they drop you from a height of 30 meters are scarier.

  4. Warning! by SethThresher · · Score: 4, Funny

    Watch out for monkeys throwing pins, those guys will RUIN your day.

  5. What kind of "near"? by jimmerz28 · · Score: 3, Informative

    So if I'm correctly informed from wikipedia (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth) this is still only in the Stratosphere.

    This doesn't seem very "near" space at all...

    1. Re:What kind of "near"? by arisvega · · Score: 2

      Still, the sky looks black, and you can see Earth's curvature.

      --
      The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
  6. scaring soundtrack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    it's "lucean le stelle" (eng: the stars were shining), but it talks about a man that ig going to die in desperation (".. e muoio disperato") americans calls them "dead man walking"...
    Isn't it funny? Takng off on a experimental vehicle with such a deadful soundtrack?

    p.s.
    the opera is Puccini's "Tosca" and the character singing is Cavaradossi that is going to be executed...
         

  7. Their secret to making the balloon fly higher by istartedi · · Score: 4, Funny

    Their secret to making the balloon fly higher? Remove letters to reduce weight.

    --
    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
  8. Waste of helium by hackertourist · · Score: 2

    Helium isn't exactly abundant. Is it wise to vent such huge amounts of it into space just for tourism?

  9. Re:Baloney by CompMD · · Score: 2

    I think you mean BLONY.