The highest point of view on our planet is 8.8 km high.
Commercial jet airliners fly at around 10 km high.
Project Stratos-Sphere sends balloons 3x higher (33 km up), deep into the stratosphere, at -65°C.
It takes only 90 minutes to reach this height at the slow ascending speed of 5.6 m/sec (20 km/h). A distance most of us make every day while commuting. Translate that to 120 km/h and it would take you only 15 min to get there with your car. 15 min... To go deep into the cold blackness of Space.
We live in a very thin and fragile world. Let's remember how lucky we are.
Just look up now and think of it for a few seconds (ok, go outside first).
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As a fine-art photographer, the idea of taking photos of the curve of the Earth from space and the thin fading atmosphere we're living in began to emerge as an artistic project around mid 2011. Several options were then possible :
Commercial jet airliners fly at around 10 km high.
Project Stratos-Sphere sends balloons 3x higher (33 km up), deep into the stratosphere, at -65°C.
It takes only 90 minutes to reach this height at the slow ascending speed of 5.6 m/sec (20 km/h). A distance most of us make every day while commuting. Translate that to 120 km/h and it would take you only 15 min to get there with your car. 15 min... To go deep into the cold blackness of Space.
We live in a very thin and fragile world. Let's remember how lucky we are.
Just look up now and think of it for a few seconds (ok, go outside first).
---
As a fine-art photographer, the idea of taking photos of the curve of the Earth from space and the thin fading atmosphere we're living in began to emerge as an artistic project around mid 2011. Several options were then possible :
- take a seat on one of the Space Shuttles (budget unknown, but too late after July 2011)
- take a seat on a Soyuz as a Space tourist and take some shots through the window (budget: $ 20–35 million)
- reserve a seat at Virgin Galactic and wait in the queue (budget: $ 200.000), or sign a contract with Branson like Michael Najjar
- do the same as Joe Kittinger or Felix Baumgartner and enroll in the Red Bull Stratos Team and hope to stay conscious during the free fall to take pictures
- put cameras in a capsule suspended under a meteorological balloon (budget: $ 2.000 + $250 per launch : balloon and helium)