Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Japanese start-ups announced plans to use inflatable balloons carrying space capsules to send ordinary passengers into space on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

Iwaya Giken says it has developed an airtight two-seater cabin and a balloon capable of rising to an altitude of 25 kilometers. The inflatable balloon with the capsule is expected to reduce the price of space travel, so that ordinary passengers can also experience "space tourism."

Keisuke Iwaya, chief executive of Iwaya Giken, said passengers do not need to be billionaires, intensive training or language skills to fly on rockets.

"it's safe, economical and gentle," said Keisuke Iwaya. "our idea is to make it possible for everyone to travel to space."

Iwaya Giken, headquartered in Sapporo, northern Japan, has been working on a manned space balloon program since 2012 and says it has developed airtight two-seater cabins and balloons capable of rising to an altitude of 25km, allowing passengers to clearly see the curvature of the earth.

Although customers' balloons can only rise to the middle of the stratosphere and not to outer space, they can fly higher than jetliners and have a panoramic view of outer space.

Iwaya Giken plans to work with JTB, a major Japanese travel agency, when the business trip is ready. The initial cost per customer for a single flight is about 2400 million yen (CTOnews.com Note: currently about 1.226 million yuan), but Keisuke Iwaya says his goal is to eventually reduce it to a few million yen.

While Japanese private space companies lag behind companies such as SpaceX, Keisuke Iwaya says his goal is to make it easier for people to get into space. The company's first personal travel plan will be launched as early as later this year.

Iwaya Giken's balloon, powered by reusable helium and capable of carrying a pilot and a passenger, is scheduled to take off from Hokkaido, Japan, and take two hours to rise to an altitude of 25km, stay there for an hour, and then drop to the ground in another hour.

Iwaya Giken said the cabin is 1.5 meters in diameter and has several large windows that can see the space above or the earth below.

The company launched a public application for a "space tour" on Tuesday, which will last until the end of August this year.

The first five passengers will be announced in October, Iwaya Giken said. If the weather conditions go as desired, the company will make its first flight in about a week.

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