Japanese Startup Seeking Space-Viewing Balloon Passengers

Tokyo, March 15 (Jiji Press)--Japanese startup Iwaya Inc. is looking for a total of five passengers for commercial space-viewing balloon flights between 2023 and 2024 that will take them to the stratosphere.

The company, based in Sapporo, Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, is accepting applications until the end of August this year. Each flight will cost about 24 million yen per passenger.

The balloon will take two hours to reach an altitude of 25 kilometers using helium and stay there for one hour before returning to the ground after a one-hour descent.

Each flight, set to start from Hokkaido, will carry a pilot and one passenger. The first flight is scheduled for December.

Passengers will be asked to stay in Hokkaido for around one week to wait for good flight conditions. To be eligible, applicants must be 150 to 190 centimeters tall and aged between 15 and 65.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]