SPACE PERSPECTIVE UNVEILS PATENTED CAPSULE DESIGN

NOW IN PRODUCTION AT ITS STATE- OF-THE-ART COMPOSITE MANUFACTURING FACILITY

An elegantly smooth, spherical pressure vessel designed for the ultimate Space Lounge experience and comfort. Render courtesy of Space Perspective.(Image credit: Space Perspective)

July 27, 2022 - Kennedy Space Center, FL - Space travel is about to get safer, more comfortable, and even more thrilling. Space Perspective, Planet Earth's leading luxury space travel company, unveils the patent-pending Spaceship Neptune capsule design now in production at the company’s state-of-the-art campus, near its Operations Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

As the only carbon neutral way to space, Space Perspective continues its pursuit of proprietary space travel innovation. Thousands of virtual flight tests, simulations, and analysis runs with cutting-edge technology from Siemens Digital Industries and AWS resulted in the pioneering capsule and splash cone designs. An elegant spherical exterior maximizes the 360-degree panoramic views via the largest-ever, patented windows to be taken to the edge of space and a roomier Space Lounge interior, offering plenty of headroom as Explorers move around the capsule. The proprietary splash cone ensures Spaceship Neptune’s ocean landing is gentle and safe.

Space Perspective’s state-of-the-art composite capsule manufacturing facility, in conjunction with an in-depth series of parallel processed analyses and design iterations, led to Spaceship Neptune features such as:

• An elegantly smooth, spherical pressure vessel designed for the ultimate Space Lounge experience and comfort. The iconic spherical shape of the exterior accommodates a roomier interior with more headroom, and the additional safety benefits of being optimal for pressure resistance.
• An enhanced patent pending splash cone, refined from hundreds of digital iterations, to attenuate splashdown for a gentle and safe landing that improves customer experience and hydrodynamics. With water landings considered by NASA as the low risk way of returning a capsule from space, following the gradual, two-hour descent to Earth and a gentle splash down in the ocean, a Space Perspective crew will retrieve passengers, the capsule, and the SpaceBalloonTM by ship.
• Reflective coated windows and center section, similar to that of an astronaut’s helmet, will limit solar gain and keep the interior Space Lounge comfortable and cool.
• A patent pending thermal control system to amplify comfort. The exterior of the capsule travels through a wide range of thermally dynamic environments and the system will keep the interiors and Space Explorers at a consistently comfortable temperature.

Spaceship Neptune’s design is the culmination of serial inventions in patented technologies aligned to space exploration and the phenomenal efforts of a world-class team in examining every aspect of the design and its function. The capsule seamlessly marries the singular demands of space travel in relation to pressure, temperature and structural engineering to the ultimate user experience.

“Centuries of balloon and parachute operation and development demonstrate that always flying with the balloon from launch through landing, with traditional parachutes as a reserve backup system, is by far the simplest, safest and most robust solution. Our proprietary flight system means that the capsule and SpaceBalloonTM always remain connected, and take-off and landing conditions are always within our control. The team has come together to create an amazingly robust, safe, and incredibly elegant and luxurious system for Spaceship Neptune. Simplicity and automation are the keys to safety,” said Taber MacCallum, Founder, Co-CEO and CTO of Space Perspective.

“We are proud to announce our team members who lead the experience design for Spaceship Neptune, Dan Window, Experience Design Lead, and Isabella Trani, Experience Designer,” continued MacCallum. “From the details of the category defining Space Lounge™ interior, to the stunning exterior design, our team integrated the physics, engineering, analysis, and design elements to create the Space Perspective experience.” Dan Window and Isabella Trani are world experts in the design of premium transportation systems including the New Tube for London, the Vertical Aerospace VX4 electric aircraft, and the Hyperloop, and are co-founders at Of My Imagination.

They said: “Space travel presents a new realm of exciting challenges and creative thinking. As design specialists we have integrated the travel experience and aesthetic – from head room and groups of Explorers being able to move around comfortably within Spaceship Neptune from chair to restroom to bar – to, of course, maximising the once-in-a-lifetime views. The pioneering 360-degree windows will be accompanied by satellite imagery and 360-degree cameras to zoom in and out on the incredible vista. We now also have an exterior aesthetic that is every bit as powerful as the interior revealed in April - the engineering team have delivered an unsurpassable outcome in relation to

Space Perspective’s Taber MacCallum (left), Founder and Co-CEO, and Peter Tinkham* (right), Manufacturing Specialist, in the testing lab, inspect a section of carbon composite exterior manufactured for Spaceship Neptune. Photo courtesy of Space Perspective.

“As transportation designers, we are always looking to drive forward how and where we can take people next. Space travel is at the pinnacle of that, which is why we are excited to be working with Space Perspective to play a part in shaping this incredible experience.”

Space Perspective collaborated with Siemens, who have provided expertise in rigorous and precise engineering to the design of Spaceship Neptune. Testing iterations of the capsule design were accelerated by using solutions from Siemens Xcelerator portfolio and parallel-processing AWS servers. Siemens’ software processed the complex loads of a six-hour round trip that involves travel through air, space, and water while maintaining a safe, comfortable environment for passengers, meant that more virtual tests and simulations were able to be run than previously possible.

Through this technology, delivered through AWS Cloud servers, the Space Perspective engineering team, assisted by Siemens engineers, was able to craft the optimal capsule shape ahead of manufacturing. Simulations were used to demonstrate that the rounded capsule provides the most robust shape for pressure resistance and splashdown within the numerous environments Spaceship Neptune travels through during flight.

Cedrik Neike, Member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG, and CEO of Siemens Digital Industries added, “Siemens is excited to support this fantastic mission that showcases how Siemens Xcelerator can assist pushing the boundaries of innovation. The sky is no limit for digital transformation, and we are proud to play a part in helping Space Perspective get closer to their goal of lifting people into space in the safest and most stylish way possible.”

Manufacturing of Spaceship Neptune has already begun with 100,000 square feet of facilities, 300,000 square feet of dedicated testing apron area, and operations centre at the NASA KSC Shuttle Landing Facility. With almost 900 tickets sold to date and the purchase of entire capsules for eight popular, commercial flights are targeted to begin in late 2024. Space Perspective is currently taking reservations for 2025 and beyond. Tickets are priced $125,000 per person, and bookings are made with a fully refundable deposit beginning at $1,000 (customers can also book and pay online via crypto - a first in the commercial space flight industry). Space Perspective’s human spaceflight launches are regulated by the FAA Office of Commercial Spaceflight.

*Peter Tinkham is a machinist and A&P Aircraft Mechanic with more than 10 years’ experience fabricating and assembling large composite structures and flight hardware for the aerospace industry. Prior to joining Space Perspective, he spent five years at SpaceX as a Launch Technician and Vehicle and Payload Integration Supervisor.

About Space Perspective
Space Perspective is the world’s first luxury spaceflight experience. It invites more people than has historically been possible to experience a thrillingly new and visceral perspective that expands the human consciousness – the incredibly exhilarating panoramas and scale of Earth in space. Our atmosphere stretches for 100s of miles into space, Spaceship Neptune flies above 99% of it.

Setting a new bar in out-of-this-world thrilling experiences, as soon as late 2024 Space Perspective will escort Space Explorers gently to space inside Spaceship Neptune’s pressurized capsule propelled by a high-performance spaceballoon that doesn’t use rocket fuel, where Explorers see the world anew through its vast windows. The ultra-comfortable, accessible and gentle six-hour journey redefines what space and wonder travel means for the modern traveler.

Based out of Kennedy Space Center, Space Perspective is led by industry luminaries Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum, and their expert crew who have been integral to all human spaceballoon flights in the last 50 years. Poynter and MacCallum have been dubbed ‘Masters of the stratosphere,’ by Bloomberg Business Week, and MacCallum served as Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. For More information on Space Perspective, Check out our products page.

About My Imagination
Of My Imagination (OMI) is a London-based design studio founded by Daniel Window and Isabella Trani specialising in the next generation of transport design. OMI works in collaboration with industry-leading clients to develop cutting-edge, sustainability-focused transportation. Bringing a fresh take to this new landscape of mobility, the studio is focused on creating exciting and unique passenger experiences.

About Galactic Experiences by DePrez
Galactic Experiences by DePrez is a member of the DePrez Group Of Travel Companies and is the largest independent travel management firm in central and western NY. Founded in 1929 the group provides extensive and diverse travel services, including cruise sales of Just Cruises, Inc. a top 50 cruise-only agency in N.A.), meeting and conventions planning to fortune 100 companies and large associations, corporate travel management, and luxury travel leisure sales through Whitaker & DePrez Travel Partners LLC.

For additional information please contact Craig Curran at ccurran@galacticexperiencesbydeprez.com.

For More Information Please Contact:

CRAIG CURRAN , ASA
Galactic Experiences By DePrez, DePrez Travel Bureau, Inc.
585-442-8900 X224

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