Space Perspective Inc. took off with a $40 million Series A round for its planned high-altitude balloon trips.
Jackson, Wyoming-based venture capital firm Prime Movers Lab led the investment round for the Kenned Space Center-based company. The investment will help fund the firm’s mission to conduct the first commercial space balloon flight in 2024.
Space Perspective targets high-end customers who may want to hold a corporate event or small wedding while peering down at Earth, or people who simply want to take part in the rare experience of space travel. Passengers will ride in a capsule outfitted with reclining seats, a bathroom and a bar.
The firm this year began taking reservations for its luxury balloon flights. Each six-hour trip will take up to eight passengers 20 miles above Earth’s surface, providing 360-degree views of the planet.
“It’s a new day in space travel, and our investors are responding to a vocal and growing market of travelers seeking a safe portal for this ultimate journey,” co-CEO and Chief Experience Officer Jane Poynter said in a prepared statement.
The firm’s growth is important because it likely will create jobs and further an emerging space tourism industry. The company lists five open positions online, all based in Cape Canaveral. These jobs are primarily engineer roles, which pay average annual salaries between $106,000-$121,000 on the Space Coast, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Plus, Space Perspective may contribute to the growth of a space tourism industry in Central Florida. In fact, Space Perspective is patronizing local companies for help recovering spacecraft after launches and for technical services, co-CEO and Chief Technology Officer Taber MacCallum previously said.
There are two customers bases emerging in the fledgling space tourism market, Florida Institute of Technology Spaceport Education Center Director Don Platt previously told Orlando Inno. They include long-term, corporate missions to facilities like the International Space Station and short-term trips by people "seeking a thrill," he said.
Other investors include LightShed Ventures, the Explorer 1 Fund, Raised in Space, Yamauchi No. 10 Family Office, Tony Robbins, SpaceFund, and the 1517 Fund. Two local investment firms participated in the round: the Central Florida Tech Fund, which is part of Orlando and Bronxville, New York-based Kirenaga Partners LLC, and Orlando-based E2MC.
Space Perspective has the potential to lead the development of a massive space tourism sector as well as create a profound experience for its customers, Kirenaga Partner Jim Thomas told Orlando Inno.
"[Jane Poynter] is at the forefront of creating a multibillion-dollar space tourism industry, but more importantly, they will bring the astronaut 'overview effect' to hundreds and then thousands of people. This gives people a shared mindset of the fragility of our planet and the connectedness of all of humanity.”
Space Perspective has raised $48 million since its founding in 2019.
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