Tech Sapporo startup to offer space flights in balloons

"In the future, we will be able to reduce the price to the range between 1 million yen and 2 million yen," said company President Keisuke Iwaya, 36. The firm showcased the plastic pod-like cabin it designed for the balloon at an event on Feb. 21. The balloon measures 41 meters high and has a spherical two-seater cabin, which is 1.5 meters in diameter. The cabin is specially designed to be unaffected by the changes in temperature and air pressure. It comes equipped with life-support equipment and can be transformed into a parashoot in the event of an emergency. The startup developed everything in-house to ensure safety, including its communication devices, Iwaya said. The company plans to recruit five passengers and a pilot for the first batch of flights by the end of this year and expects to launch them out of Hokkaido. It has conducted more than 300 flight tests already, and the highest point the balloon has reached is about 40 km into the sky.

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