Posted on 06/26/2014 8:57:53 AM PDT by Kartographer
An Arizona company says it has successfully completed the first small-scale test flight of a high-altitude balloon and capsule being developed to let tourists float 20 miles above the earth.
World View Enterprises of Tucson said Tuesday that it launched the flight last week from Roswell.
CEO Jane Poynter said the system broke the world record for highest parafoil flight, lifting a payload to 120,000 feet.
"It went really, really, really well," Poynter said. "Actually, the guys hit the ball out of the park. We're thrilled."
The system uses a balloon similar to that used in 2012 to lift Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner 128,000 feet to make a world-record breaking 24-mile sky dive. That flight also launched from the Roswell airport.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
New Mexico Ping!
Hate to spring even a slow leak at 120,000 ft.
That is SO cool.
Growing up watching the early Apollo programs and seeing an American set foot on the moon drove my fascination with aircraft and space craft.
I was telling my kids that in their lifetime, they will have the opportunity to go to the edge of space and that is becoming the case. Once they are a lot older, the price for something like this will come down to where it will be affordable. I hope I live long enough to see that day.
You’re not getting me in THAT thing.... whew
Parachutes included?...........or do you bring your own? and an O2 bottle................
I would have to pay ‘extra’ for uhh, excess baggage...................Will the TSA have to pat me down? Might delay the flight...............
and bottle of whisky...
Two.
One for before.
One for After............
I wonder if any UFO sightings were reported? By the way, Roswell has a very strange-looking McDonalds restaurant. Three guesses what it looks like.
Great article, thanks for posting & you’re right, it looks much more fun than Virgin Galactic’s Space ship!
Now if I just had a spare $75,000 lying around *sigh*
Indeed it does. But in this area McDonalds is rebuilding and remodeling them at a fast pace, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that one getting torn down soon.
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