On February 21, space development venture Iwatani Giken announced the “OPEN UNIVERSE PROJECT” to realize space excursions using balloons, and began recruiting passengers and pilots for the first phase.
Iwatani Giken is a Hokkaido-based venture that designs, develops, and manufactures high-altitude gas balloons and airtight cabins for travel. President Keisuke Iwatani was involved in space photography using balloons when he was a student, and has since built a career in the design and development of high-altitude balloons.
Mr. Iwatani explains that while rockets are large in scale and require training to launch at high speed, small-scale, slow-rising balloons can be “democratically priced” in terms of cost.
The actual T-10 EARTHER, an airtight cabin for two (pilot and passenger), is a sphere slightly smaller than an adult male in height and made almost entirely of plastic. It is designed for sightseeing, with a transparent exterior covering much of its circumference, making it easy to see in front, behind, and to the left and right from the inside.
The seats were equipped with two Recaro seats, known for their use in automobiles and airplanes, and were fitted with four-point seatbelts. The pilot’s seat on the left facing the front was equipped with a display and instruments, and a portable power supply was used to power the cabin lighting. The interior space was “large enough to take a selfie while sitting down,” according to the company.
The balloon connected to the T-10 EARTHER will ascend to an altitude of 25,000 meters for one hour, cruise in the sky for two hours, and then descend slowly. The company is working to commercialize a series of phases, including pre-launch, scenic flight, landing, and landing, as the launch is greatly affected by weather conditions.
The company has launched more than 300 times to date, reaching an altitude of 40,000 meters, and will conduct more than 20 manned flights after 2022. The company will conduct tests over the next year or so to confirm safety.
JTB has also announced its participation in the project as a co-creation partner, and the company will provide support to package a series of launch-related experiences into a travel product.
Regarding the actual price of the experience, Mr. Iwatani explained that where private space travel has cost approximately 6 billion yen per person, he expects the price range to be “four zeros (= approximately 600,000 yen).
© Source travel watch