Marine Spaceport (MS) Voyager
Marine Spaceport (MS) Voyager, a 294-foot-long vessel, is the first in a planned fleet of this new class of spaceports globally. Spaceports are sites for launching and retrieving spacecraft. With the capacity to launch from marine-based sites around the world, Space Perspective becomes the first global space travel experience company.
The name Voyager is an homage to the Voyager 1 Space Probe mission which, on astronomer Carl Sagan’s urging, took a photo of Earth from across the solar system on February 14th, 1990. That photo, now known famously as the Pale Blue Dot, inspired Sagan’s book of the same name and his call for humans to “preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known” – words that reverberate through Space Perspective’s mission today.
A World-Class Vessel
Acquired from one of the world's premier shipbuilders, Edison Chouest Offshore, and refurbished by Conrad Shipyard, MS Voyager's marine operations will be supported by Guice Offshore with certification by the Coast Guard and American Bureau of Shipping.
MS Voyager has been retrofitted for launch, recovery, and SpaceBalloon™ operations and will begin marine operations as part of test flights in 2024.
Landing and Retrieval
When it's time to come back to Earth at the end of the journey in Spaceship Neptune's pressurized capsule, a Splashcone at its base provides a smooth and gentle water landing. Fast boats will then arrive to stabilize the capsule, which will be lifted onto Voyager by a custom-built A-Frame onto the deck of MS Voyager. This process is expected to take no more than 20 minutes from splashdown to disembarkation out of the capsule onto the deck. From early Apollo to SpaceX missions, water landings have been a safe and trusted way to return to Earth, and Space Perspective's team includes former SpaceX and NASA launch and retrieval experts.
Marine Spaceports Unlock Global Experiences
Conversations are active with several potential additional destinations across the globe to offer Explorers an awe-inspiring view of some of the world’s most iconic geography.
Marine spaceports generally create ideal launch conditions in two ways: by navigating to areas of good weather, which allows for year-round operations within a region, and by moving with the sea breeze, so there is virtually no wind across the deck. This enables more frequent launch opportunities, as well as more options for the time of day, including sunrise and sunset nighttime stargazing flights for Explorers.
“This is another important milestone and a proud moment for the Space Perspective crew both in terms of pioneering engineering and the ability to scale our offer quickly, globally.”
Taber MacCallumFounder, Co-CEO & CTO of Space Perspective