space perspective completes test flight of its spaceship that can bring travelers out of earth

the flight was launched from marine spaceport voyager, the spaceship’s launching vessel, off the coast of st. petersburg, florida, on september 15th, 2024.

matthew burgos September 19, 2024 4 min

Uncrewed successful test flight of spaceship neptune excelsior

Space Perspective has successfully completed the uncrewed and second development test flight of its Spaceship Neptune Excelsior. The flight was launched from Marine Spaceport Voyager, the spaceship’s launching vessel, off the coast of St. Petersburg, Florida, on September 15th, 2024 and returned safely afterwards. The fully operational test vehicle, a spaceship that designboom had the chance to see the interiors before its official flights, is the same one that will take travelers to space. During testing, the SpaceBalloon lifted the capsule from Spaceport Voyager.

The Neptune Excelsior reached a high altitude of 100,000 feet, which is almost in space and above 99 percent of Earth’s atmosphere. After reaching its peak altitude, the space capsule descended in a controlled manner and landed safely in the water. The flight lasted six hours, from launch to descent. This test flight aimed to demonstrate the complete flight process—launch, reaching high altitude, descending, and landing—while also testing Neptune Excelsior’s capabilities, including its thermal control management in space.

space perspective test flight — all images courtesy of Space Perspective

Space perspective’s vessel maintains safe cabin pressure

The successful test flight of Spaceship Neptune Excelsior allows Space Perspective to study the gathered data and help improve the spacecraft. During testing, the company used a new four-roller mechanism to raise the SpaceBalloon, which they say was a first for the test. This system can help Space Perspective conduct spaceflights from marine spaceports and make it possible to launch spacecraft from anywhere in the world, year-round.

The spaceship capsule was able to maintain safe cabin pressure and stability, even at the highest point in the atmosphere. This confirms that their spaceship design works both on and off Earth. The capsule also managed to withstand extreme temperature changes in the upper atmosphere, and the thermal control system kept the cabin comfortable even with extreme cold and heat outside. The SpaceBalloon, which uses hydrogen gas to ascend, was also proven to function well since it was able to ascend and descend with the spacecraft safely.

the flight was launched from Marine Spaceport Voyageroff the coast of St. Petersburg, Florida

test flight data allows space perspective to improve capsule

On land, the test flight was controlled by the Mission Control team of Space Perspective using their own custom software and communication systems. After the flight, the spacecraft was retrieved by a jet boat and a crane, which were used to inspect the spacecraft post-landing. The team gathered data about the performance of the spaceship, including the capsule’s build and durability during the flight.

They plan to use this information in a virtual model, or simulation, of the space capsule to allow engineers to analyze and test the spacecraft’s systems without needing to fly it again physically. This will help them improve and tweak the design of the capsule before it fully launches for space travel in 2025, with commercial flights starting in 2026.