Washington D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation congratulates World View for the successful completion of their first commercial research flight with NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate’s (STMD) Flight Opportunities Program. On Sunday, March 8, the high-altitude balloon spaceflight system floated two experiments to the edge of space at 105,000 feet, and joined an impressive group of proven suborbital flight providers selected to flight-test science and technology payloads for government, academia and industry.
“We congratulate the World View team on this maiden commercial voyage, and applaud their ability to further stratospheric exploration and research” said CSF President Eric Stallmer. “We are encouraged by the continued efforts of NASA STMD’s Flight Opportunities Program to affordably test technology and expand access to space through these public-private partnerships.”
World View’s high-altitude balloon system is currently available for unmanned research flights, and in the future, a pressurized space capsule will use the technology to lift passengers to a height of 30km for a two-hour panoramic experience before gliding back to Earth. World View is a new Executive Committee member of CSF. For more information, see World View’s website.
About Flight Opportunities Program
Flight Opportunities is 1 of 9 programs in the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). It was established in 2010 to nurture the emerging commercial suborbital industry and help establish a viable commercial suborbital market. The program buys early flights on proven platforms to flight-test space technologies of interest to NASA, and has ongoing efforts to support commercial capabilities development in the suborbital and small orbital launcher industry through private-public partnerships. For more information visit the NASA Flight Opportunities website.
About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Sirisha Bandla at sirisha@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.715.2928.
