First-of-its-kind space balloon  launches in Florida - fitted with luxury bar, recliner seats and out of this world views

An out-of-this-world balloon has taken off from Florida. 

Space Perspective, a spaceflight tourism company, completed the second unmanned test flight of their Spaceship Neptune aircraft on Sunday, sending the balloon-lifted capsule on a six-hour journey to the stratosphere before returning for a splashdown in the ocean. 

Spaceship Neptune is designed to ascend about 20 miles above the Earth, offering  panoramic views of our home planet and extras that include a menu of cocktails, music playlist and reclining seats - all for $125,000.

During the launch, the massive space balloon filled with hydrogen, which lifted the Spaceship Neptune capsule into the sky at a gentle speed of roughly 12 miles per hour. When fully inflated, the balloon is nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower, and could fill an entire football stadium. 

The company hopes to begin human flights in 2025, and commercial operations by 2026. 

'Completing Development Flight 2 is a defining moment for Space Perspective,' Space Perspective founder and CTO Taber MacCallum said in a press release. 

During Sunday's test flight - which launched from the deck of a 294-foot-long MS voyager ship in the Gulf of Mexico - Spaceship Neptune maintained cabin pressure and stability at peak altitude.

This confirmed the safety, design and performance of the largest spaceflight capsule ever flown, with the largest windows ever flown,' Space Perspective stated.

After reaching peak altitude in the stratosphere, the aircraft performed a controlled descent and splashed down in ocean, where it was then retrieved by a fast boat and crane.

Data collected during this test flight will 'will pave the way for the development of crewed test flights,' Space Perspective stated. 

Space Perspective has raised $100 million from investors to support the development of 'the world's first space lounge.'

Though human flights won't begin for some time, the company has already sold more than 1,800 tickets.

Spaceship Neptune can carry eight people at a time to the brink of space. But a ticket doesn't just buy you a seat - passengers also get to enjoy cocktails, meal service, high-speed WIFI and incredible views of their home planet.

The six-hour flight will include two hours to soak up the curvature of the Earth, 'the total blackness of space, and the thin blue line of our atmosphere', Space Perspective has said. 

That's because it takes two hours for Spaceship Neptune to reach its maximum height, and two hours to complete it's descent back to Earth. This leaves two hours in between to hang out in the stratosphere.

Passengers even get to enjoy this view while using the bathroom, which features 'soft, soothing color tones, living plants, stunning window vistas, high-end products and unique soundscapes,' according to Space Perspective. 

The spherical, pressurized aircraft uses a patented Space Balloon to ascend to an altitude of 100,000 feet, or about 20 miles. It requires no thrust and the cabin is climate controlled to maximize the comfort of future passengers. 

But Spaceship Neptune passengers won't get to experience the weightlessness offered by Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket and Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo.

By comparison, the former takes its passengers to an altitude of 65 miles and the latter 50 miles. A ticket on Blue Origin's New Shepard for a suborbital space flight typically costs between $250,000 and $500,000

Space Perspective's spherical pod will be attached to a balloon launched from shipping vessels being converted into 'floating spaceports' off the Florida coast.

It is currently under construction near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, with the aim to launch the first model to space by the end of next year.

Space Perspective performed the first test flight of Space in 2021 using a capsule simulator, and opened their 50,000-square-foot polyethylene balloon manufacturing facility in Titusville in August 2023.

CTO MacCallum has previously said the company will probably perform 10 uncrewed test flights while working to build a vehicle capable of transporting humans.

'This uncrewed flight not only proves our pioneering technology but also brings us a giant leap closer to making space accessible for everyone and reaffirms our belief in the transformative power of space travel,' MacCallum said.