Bitcoin Forum

(CNN)Instead of rocket-powered sub-orbital flights like those of Virgin Galactic, could high-altitude ballooning become the most viable way of letting paying tourists experience space -- or at least something thrillingly close to it?

Ballooning is already tried and tested technology -- "It's the origin of space travel," explains Annelie Schoenmaker, external relations and legal officer for Zero2infinity, a Spanish company that plans to launch passengers to near space using balloons known as "Bloons" for €110,000 ($124,000) a time.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/05/tech/balloons-fly-edge-of-space/index.html (http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/05/tech/balloons-fly-edge-of-space/index.html)

Now if they would be accepting bitcoin to purchase those tickets in the future :)

Will this work? At that altitude you have to wear a pressurised suit or your blood will boil. You cant remove your helmet or the suit isnt pressurised. Therefore you cant drink.

Thanks but I'm all set on pushing the envelope in a freaking balloon of all things. If you're in the market to spend that kind of money to breach the atmosphere on the way out, you might as well just convert to bitcoin and go the Virgin route.

I'm getting fucking tired of the media peddling technology like this to idiot tourists and people who don't know any better, especially since people got killed recently with the virgin galactic plan, it's the equivalent of going "Hey Tourists! Why not go on a trip to Iraq! Sure! There are a bunch of murderous psychopaths who will definitely kill you on the spot if you're white but otherwise it's a perfectly safe place to visit!" space technology just isn't there yet and these fuckers are essentially advertising space technology as if it's everyday, would you guys get on the first plane invented by the wright brothers? Of course not, not unless you had someone who knew what they were doing it testing it first properly and making sure everything works.

It's just like the marsone trip, taking advantage of gullible and ignorant people who don't know about space flight and technology so by the time they realise they're going to get killed doing what they do it's already too late, oh yeah, I finally found the words to describe why this kind of thing makes me so pissed off.

Something about it being in a balloon makes it seem more dangerous than if it were a plane traveling to the edge of the atmosphere. It's a silly notion because both forms of transportation are equally dangerous...the fall is the same.

That's the point, this kind of travel especially towards space flight is always going to be dangerous, people should be aware of the risks rather than be spoon fed this idea it's all beauty and adventure.

Exactly. I would flip out though when the ballon popped  :-X

You are in a capsule. From the article....

The capsules are completely sealed, allowing for full pressurization at altitudes. "Our capsule is fitted with state-of-the-art space-rated life support systems, designed and manufactured by Paragon Space Development Corporation, who are global leaders in life support technology," says Poynter, of the World View system.

Huh?

(am guessing you haven't seen the Deadly Dilemma about taking off your helmet in space vs. letting it fill up with water)

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=A0LEV1mOlfpU2fEAmAZXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzajVydWsxBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDVklQNTg0XzEEc2VjA3Ny?qid=20080714181707AAe8p2T

It's not space. The traditional boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space is the Karman line which is 100 kilometers (62 miles) up and even the best balloons can only reach about this height - although when you're that high up, most people probably won't know or care for the difference. You'll be able to see the curvature of the Earth and the stars above. There will be no weightlessness though since gravity in the mesosphere is almost as strong as it is in sea level and these craft won't be traveling at orbital velocity. And although the maximum limit for a high-altitude balloon is roughly 50 kilometers (31 miles), one that's loaded with passengers will probably only reach 30-40 kilometers (about 20-25 miles) max.