Space travel could be accessible to more people in the near future. People who have enough money and are interested to leave Earth will be able to board the space capsule for tourists. The space company Blue Origin, owned by the billionaire Jeff Bezos, presented a series of new images of the New Shepard capsule for passengers, a capsule that promises the adventure of a lifetime in suborbital flights without sacrificing comfort, according to SPACE.
The first flights with tourists could take place next year
In October last year, Jeff Bezos, the owner of the company Blue Origin said they are about to conduct the first test flights with human crew of the capsule New Shepard by the end of 2017.
Bezos mentioned that commercial flights will begin in 2018.
Comfortable capsule for tourists
The capsule that will carry tourists into space is very comfortable. The cabin is spacious and equipped with large portholes. The company says that these portholes will be "the largest windows ever sent into space." The armchairs are tilted back so that passengers can observe the sky during launch. The real adventure will start once the capsule has reached an altitude of about 100 kilometers, and passengers will be able to remove seatbelts, so they can float in microgravity in the cabin.
A flight with New Shepard will last about 11 minutes. Apart from its tourist use, this capsule will also be used as a laboratory for experiments in microgravity conditions.
The company could also offer space trips to higher altitudes
Last year, Jeff Bezos said Blue Origin also aims to provide space trips to higher altitudes. For such trips the company started to produce a new space ship called New Glenn. Bezos said that the customers who bought tours aboard the suborbital capsule New Shepard will have priority when it comes to trips with New Glenn.
Space tourism -- an ambition for more billionaires
Space tourism is not only an ambition for Blue Origin. Virgin Galactic, another company owned by an eccentric billionaire has already started selling tickets for suborbital space trips aboard the space aircraft they have built. The company World View also offers trips into the stratosphere with capsules lifted by balloons.
