make your fridays matter with a well-read weekend

 

PriestmanGoode pioneers space travel with Spaceship Neptune

Designed for Space Perspective, Spaceship Neptune will shuttle space explorers and research payloads to the edge of space in a high-performance balloon and pressurised capsule.

by STIRworldPublished on : Aug 31, 2020

Spaceship Neptune is a design by PriestmanGoode in collaboration with the US-based Space Perspective that sets the stage for prospective space travel to give ‘explorers’ an out-of-this-world adventure. “Neptune is a great project to work on, it’s the culmination of a long-term collaboration that has resulted in the only spaceship that is designed with the human experience at its core,” says Nigel Goode, designer and co-founder of PriestmanGoode, which has its headquarters in London.

01 min watch A high-performance balloon and pressurized capsule will send passengers into space | Spaceship Neptune by PriestmanGoode and Space Perspective | STIRworld
A high-performance balloon and pressurised capsule will send passengers into space Video: Courtesy of PriestmanGoode

The design started with a thought for a memorable and comfortable user experience and consequently has been designed from the inside out. Various components have been added to create a holistic experience, including essentials for a six-hour journey, such as a lavatory.

The capsule will provide passengers with views they have never seen before | Spaceship Neptune by PriestmanGoode and Space Perspective | STIRworld
The capsule will provide passengers with views they have never seen before Image: Courtesy of PriestmanGoode

To ensure an unobstructed view of the uncharted territory, PriestmanGoode has created an efficient space that lets passengers move around during the ride, with glasses providing a 360-degree view of what lies outside. Additionally, a highly functional environment for the pilot and the requirement for the minimal weight of the capsule guided the final form of the structure. The design of the capsule is a significant component in providing passengers an experience equivalent to that of astronauts seeing the Earth in space for the first time.

A high-performance balloon aids the journey of the spaceship | Spaceship Neptune | PriestmanGoode and Space Perspective | STIRworld
A high-performance balloon aids the journey of the spaceship Image: Courtesy of PriestmanGoode

A pilot will fly up to eight “explorers” to the edge of space and safely back in Spaceship Neptune, taking them where only 20 people have been before. After a two-hour gentle ascent above 99 per cent of the Earth’s atmosphere to 100,000 feet, the spaceship cruises above our home planet for up to two hours, giving passengers and research payloads time to soak in their experience and also share it on social media. Neptune then heads into a two-hour descent under the balloon and splashes down, where a ship retrieves the passengers, the capsule and the balloon.

The design ensures a 360-degree view of the surroundings | Spaceship Neptune | PriestmanGoode and Space Perspective | STIRworld
The design ensures a 360-degree view of the surroundings Image: Courtesy of PriestmanGoode

“Space Perspective is developing a uniquely accessible space travel experience. The team at PriestmanGoode worked with us to create that experience with Spaceship Neptune, giving it an off-world yet classic design while meeting a wide range of human factors, engineering, manufacturing and operating requirements,” shares Taber MacCallum, founder and co-CEO of Space Perspective.

Spaceship Neptune is scheduled for take-off in 2021 | Spaceship Neptune | PriestmanGoode and Space Perspective | STIRworld
Spaceship Neptune is scheduled for take-off in 2021 Image: Courtesy of PriestmanGoode

Scheduled for early 2021, the inaugural uncrewed test flight will carry a suite of research payloads from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.  

(Text by Ankitha Gattupalli, intern at stirworld.com)

What do you think?

About Author

Recommended

LOAD MORE
see more articles
4661,4643,4593,4719,4599

make your fridays matter

SUBSCRIBE
This site uses cookies to offer you an improved and personalised experience. If you continue to browse, we will assume your consent for the same.
LEARN MORE AGREE