Space, slow and quiet

The BBC has an article by David Robson about an alternative way to go to space, or close enough:

Imagine that you could float into space as effortlessly as a helium balloon floating away from a kid’s birthday party. That’s the dream of Jose-Mariano Lopez-Urdiales, whose company zero2infinity is pioneering a new type of space tourism in the form of a vehicle he calls a bloon.
If his vision is realized, you would first enter the pod from a giant dome-shaped launching pad. A hundred-meter-tall balloon would carry you aloft, taking around an hour reach around twenty miles above the Earth’s surface. There, the bloon would drift for a couple of hours, as you take in the view of the Earth below from four huge panoramic windows, perhaps while sipping Martinis or enjoying a talk from a former astronaut.
Lopez-Urdiales says the “change of perspective” will encourage passengers to take more care of the Earth after their trip. When it comes to the time to descent, the bloon would vent some gas, before discarding the balloon sack altogether. A parachute would then open above the pod to slow the landing and, as you reach Earth, eight airbags would cushion the impact. Using meteorological data and atmospheric simulations to plan their path, the bloon pilots could ensure that always landed in a safe location.
At least, that’s the plan. Admittedly, it won’t be reaching the heights of the flights offered by the likes of Virgin Galactic, which hope to send space tourists to a hundred kilometers above the Earth’s surface. But Lopez-Urdiales says it will still be high enough to see the curvature of the blue planet below, framed against the blackness of space. Astronauts say this produces a profound feeling, known as the overview effect, and Lopez-Urdiales says the “change of perspective” will encourage passengers to take more care of the Earth after their trip.
The bloon may offer other advantages. It should give you longer to linger over the view, for instance, whereas a rocket-powered flight may only spend a few minutes at the peak of its arc. “It’s like either watching a trailer for a movie, or watching the whole movie,” says Lopez-Urdiales. “That’s a critical difference between a spaceplane and a balloon.” What’s more, the bloon will save burning so many fossil fuels, making it more environmentally-friendly. Since it will not be carrying explosives, it should also be a lot safer.
Monica Grady, a planetary scientist at the Open University, says the general concept “sounds amazing”, although she does question the scheme’s green credentials. “Helium is not called a rare gas for no reason, and it is a non-renewable resource,” she points out.
Ultimately, Lopez-Urdiales does not see the bloon as direct competition for other forms of space tourism, but an alternative experience.
Frederick Jenet, at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and a director of SpaceX’ partner Stargate, agrees. “Zero2infinity’s bloon project provides another avenue for people to connect with the dream of space exploration,” he says. It may not appeal for people who have dreams of Captain Kirk-style space travel, he adds. Instead, he thinks the bloon is better suited “for customers that want fewer bumps, shakes, and free-falls, and more of a quiet and meditative environment that would allow careful contemplation of the world we live in”.
Lopez-Urdiales is now seeking approval with the European Aviation Safety Agency and the Federal Aviation Agency, with a plan to launch the first flights in 2018. “I’ve got a spacesuit tailor-made for myself, and I hope to use it sooner rather than later,” he says.

Rico says he could see himself doing this, but it ain't gonna be cheap...