Inside orbs that will take super-rich guests to space for £100k a time

A luxury orb that is set to take intrepid passengers out to the edge of space has been unveiled.

Florida-based Space Perspective shared the first glimpse at its Spaceship Neptune - Excelsior test capsule.

The firm is planning to fly the pressurised craft using a so-called giant 'SpaceBalloon' to gently ascend to an altitude of more than 100,000ft (32km).

Up to eight daring travellers will fork out $125,000 (£100,000) per ticket for the chance to fly to the outer edge of space, while enjoying the full luxury treatment including ‘world class’ food and drinks, comfy seats and custom-made headphones. Fancy.

Alongside this, ‘Explorers’ - as they’ve been dubbed - enjoy the comforts of the world's first Space Lounge, complete with Wi-Fi, fine dining, plush seating and luxury amenities provided by prestige partners.

They will benefit from panoramic views through the largest windows ever flown to space – and even enjoy ‘a proper restroom’ the company is calling the Space Spa. I say again, fancy.

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Space Perspective said they are hoping to take more than 1,750 current ticket holders out on the crafts in 2025 and are expected to hit 4,000 seats sold – $400M in bookings – by the end of this year.

Space Perspective said Tuesday: "Introducing Spaceship Neptune - Excelsior, our finished test capsule! With the largest windows ever flown to space and a spherical design that allows for the roomiest interior of any human spaceflight capsule ever made, our spaceship offers the most incredible panoramic views of Earth."

The firm added: "With its first SpaceBalloon finished and its launch vessel, Marine Spaceport Voyager, in its final stage of preparation, Space Perspective is beginning to eye its test flights window."

The test capsule is named Excelsior in honour of late balloon space-jump pioneer Joe Kittinger and is claimed to be the largest spaceflight capsule in existence.

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The capsule measures 4.9 metres (16ft) in diameter, providing a pressurised volume of more than 60 cubic metres (2,000 cubic feet), which is roughly two times the volume of Virgin Galactic's Spaceship Two and Blue Origin's New Shepard, and about four times that of SpaceX's Crew Dragon.

Taber MacCallum, Space Perspective co-founder, said: "We are on the cusp of a staggering shift – not only in the way we humans experience space, but also what we conjure in our minds when we think of the spaceship that gets us there.

"We are redefining the category and paving the way for accessible space travel for years to come."