Space Perspective, the company behind the luxury space balloon planning on flying tourists to space with Wi-Fi and fancy cocktails, has unveiled the design on the restroom aboard Spaceship Neptune. Calling it the “first-ever Space Spa”, the facilities are equipped with windows to allow passengers to gaze at our Blue Planet while doing their business.
Tucked into one side of the balloon’s interior, named “the Space Lounge”, the Space Spa promises to surpass facilities found in a first-class airplane cabin and serve as a solo oasis during the spaceflight.
The Space Spa is the one place in the capsule’s interior where Explorers will be able to have a moment of solitude. (…) Explorers will find this environment cocooning and comforting.
Isabella Trani, Space Perspective Design Lead
Since a flight to space on the luxury balloon lasts around 6 hours, 2 hours for ascent, 2 hours floating in space, and another 2 hours for the journey back down to Earth, and the cabin is shared by 8 tourists and a captain, having a comfortable bathroom is “imperative”, according to Isabella Trani, who leads all facets of design at Space Perspective with Dan Window.
“Having a proper and beautifully designed restroom contributes significantly to the accessible and unique experience we are offering and accentuates the incredible views of the deep blackness of space, the brilliant thin blue line of our atmosphere, the stars above and the Earth below”, says Jane Poynter, Founder and Co-CEO of Space Perspective, highlighting the importance of not needing “a vacuum toilet like astronauts contend with, or a diaper.”
The “softness and optimistic colours” used in the design of the restroom are aimed at contrasting with the darkness of space and the cold blues of the Earth. The bathroom is also equipped with light washes “to create ambiance”, allow passengers to customise the lightning and reduce window reflections. Moreover, the surfaces are designed to be easily wiped, maintaining cleanliness, while the “soft surfaces and greenery promote sound and odour control”.
In July, Space Perspective announced that the company had sold more than 1,600 tickets, representing $200 million in sales. To put the significance of 1,600 space tourists in perspective, just over 600 people have ever flown to space, making Space Perspective’s sales a groundbreaking achievement in expanding humanity’s access to and experience of space.
