Space Perspective has unveiled MS Voyager, which is set to become what's touted as the first-ever "Marine Spaceport" for human spaceflight, and the first in a planned fleet of this new class of spaceports globally. With the capacity to launch from marine-based sites around the world, in addition to launching from land on Florida’s Space Coast, Space Perspective says it will become the first global space travel experience company, offering safe and sustainable journeys to the edge of space from where "explorers" live and play.
The name "Voyager" pays homage to the Voyager 1 Space Probe mission which, on astronomer Carl Sagan’s request, took a photo of Earth from across the solar system on February 14, 1990. That photo, now known as the “Pale Blue Dot,” inspired Sagan’s book of the same name and his call for humans to “preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
MS Voyager and future Space Perspective Marine Spaceports give the company the operational flexibility needed to grow its business more quickly to reach a supply-constrained global market for commercial space travel that analysts recently estimated could reach over $8 billion by 2030. Marine Spaceports create ideal launch conditions in two ways: By navigating to areas of good weather, which allows for year-round operations within a region, and by moving with the sea breeze, so there is virtually no wind across the deck. This enables more frequent launch opportunities, besides more options for the time of day, including sunrise and sunset nighttime stargazing flights for Explorers.
Acquired from shipbuilder Edison Chouest Offshore, MS Voyager’s marine operations will be supported by Guice Offshore. The 292-foot-long vessel, which will call Port Canaveral its home, is now being outfitted for launch, retrieval and SpaceBalloon operations at Conrad Shipyard—preparations for which were provided by Gulf Ship. In keeping with Space Perspective’s environmentally conscious ethos, offsets will be provided by Cool Effects, and the vessel itself is being retrofitted to use biofuel to reduce its carbon footprint.
When it’s time to come back to Earth at the end of the journey in Spaceship Neptune’s pressurized capsule, a patent-pending splash-cone at its base provides a smooth and gentle water landing. Fast boats from Fluid Watercraft will then arrive to stabilize the capsule, which will be lifted onto the Marine Spaceport by a custom-built A-frame provided by Supreme Integrated Technologies. Communications throughout the operation—between land, sea and capsule—will be provided by Silvus Technologies, utilizing military-grade StreamCaster MANET radios and MN-MIMO waveform technology.
MS Voyager will begin operations in the New Year, aligned to Space Perspective’s planned test flights that commence in early 2023. Space Perspective has sold over 1,000 tickets to date.
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