A Spanish entrepreneur wants to give you a glimpse of the black expanse of space and the curvature of the earth from a most unusual vantage point - a balloon. José Mariano López-Urdiales is offering what he calls the 'near-space' experience of viewing the planet and the space beyond it from 22 miles (36km) above the earth.
He hopes to have the first passengers aloft in the near-space vehicle called a 'bloon' by the middle of this decade. Passengers aboard the near-space ship will spend five to six hours on their journey, including two hours at cruise altitude with the blackness of space above them and the curvature of the earth below.The Presurfer