Zero2infinity - balloons flying in space

Forget the rocket. This Spanish company is working on a much more gentle ride to the borders of our planet's atmosphere. Just imagine how you go into space, it is not straining to the helium balloon like a child's birthday. It is the dream of José Mariano López-Urdiales, which is engaged in a new type of space tourism, together with his company zero2infinity and transport, which he calls «bloon» -. Something between a baloon (balloon) and bloom (flower)




According to his idea, at first you get to the platform on the giant dome-shaped launch pad. The balloon 96 meters high will carry you up and rises to a height of 36 kilometers in about an hour. There's this "blun" will drift a few hours while you enjoy the view through the four giant panoramic windows - perhaps while sipping a Martini or enjoying a conversation with former astronaut

. When it is the time of descent, "blun" will release some gas, and then completely throw a balloon. Opened parachute then will allow the platform to carry out a soft landing, and when you reach the Earth, eight airbags soften the collision. Using meteorological data and atmospheric modeling to plan their path, the pilots' bluna "will always be sure that you will land in a safe place.



At least this is the plan. Obviously, the balloon will not be able to reach such heights, which offers Virgin Galactic, which plans to send tourists to an altitude of 110 kilometers above the Earth's surface. But López-Urdiales says that the height will be enough to see the curve of the blue planet, dark space framing. Astronauts say that this kind of calls the "effect of the review," and Lopez-Urdiales believes that "change of perspective" will lead to the fact that passengers are more likely to think about the Earth after traveling.

"Blun" boasts other advantages. On it you will spend much more time than on a rocket, which sometimes offers only a couple of minutes on the admiration of the cosmos. "It's how you look at the trailer for the film, instead of the whole movie entirely," says Lopez-Urdiales. "That's the difference between kosmoplanom and a balloon." Moreover, "blun" save as much fossil fuels, which can be called virtually clean. And since it does not carry explosives, it will also be much safer rockets.

Monica Hardy, a planetary scientist from the Open University, said that the general idea "sounds great", but the circuit requires clarification. "Helium is not just considered a rare gas, and it is not a renewable resource," she says. Anyway, Lopez-Urdiales sees no "blune" a direct competitor to other forms of space tourism, but rather an alternative experience.

Frederic Genet from the University of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley, director of partner SpaceX Stargate, agrees: «zero2infinity project provides another way for people to realize the dream of space exploration," he says. Perhaps she did not want people who dream of space travel in the style of JJ Abrams. But the balloon is more suitable for people who shy away from hits, shocks, free fall and are looking for a more meditative relaxation techniques.

Now Lopez-Urdiales trying to get approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency and the Federal Association of the United States civil aviation to begin flights in 2018 already. "I already have made the suit for me, and I want to use it sooner rather than later," he says.