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IPFS News Link • Transportation: Air Travel

After Successful Flight Test, World View Ready For Next Phase

• http://www.popsci.com, JoAnna Haugen

Some say the sky is the limit, but for World View, an Arizona-based balloon flight company, sending commercial passengers more than 100,000 feet above Earth is the ultimate goal. The company came one step closer to achieving that on Saturday, with a scaled-down but fully functional test launch from an airfield in Page, Arizona, which now readies it for full-scale test flights.

World View's ultimate goal is to provide passengers with a smooth 6-hour flight in a pressurized capsule under a high-altitude, helium-filled balloon. Once the craft reaches a cruising altitude more than 20 miles above the Earth's surface, passengers can view the planet's curvature while sipping cocktails and using onboard wifi. Then the pilot gently releases the helium, the balloon and capsule separate, and, using an aerodynamic parachute-like piece of equipment called a parafoil, the capsule lands in a pre-determined location. The trip will cost $75,000 per person.


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