Space tourists will soon have another option at their disposal if all goes according to plan.

The new company Space Perspective aims to send paying customers and research payloads to the stratosphere aboard Spaceship Neptune, a balloon-borne pressurized capsule that’s scheduled to make its first test flights early next year.

“We’re committed to fundamentally changing the way people have access to space — both to perform much-needed research to benefit life on Earth and to affect how we view and connect with our planet,” Space Perspective founder and co-CEO Jane Poynter said in a statement today (June 18), when the company announced its plans.

“Today, it is more crucial than ever to see Earth as a planet, a spaceship for all humanity and our global biosphere,” Poynter said, referencing the “overview effect” commonly cited by astronauts who have flown to space.

The Spaceship Neptune capsule can accommodate a pilot and eight passengers, who will ride in style. The craft will feature seats, a bar, a bathroom and huge windows that will allow for great views of Earth against the blackness of space, company representatives said.

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Space Perspective has not yet set a price for this balloon experience, but a ticket will likely sell for around $125,000 initially, MacCallum and Poynter said. That’s about half the most recent stated price for a ride aboard Virgin Galactic’s suborbital SpaceShipTwo space plane, which is expected to begin commercial operations soon.

more at space.com