'Space' travel offered to rich thrill-seekers

People are expected to soon be able to ride into the upper atmosphere and fall back using a parachute

Traveling to the Earth's stratosphere in a balloon and returning in a parachute will soon be a thrill that's possible for the public in China, according to some high-flying local entrepreneurs.

JHY Space Technology Co Ltd (known as Space Vision), a Beijing-based company, released China's first "space parachute" suit on May 19.

In the next few months, the company says, it will test related equipment, and recruit more volunteers for training.

The first three who've said they're willing to give it a try are an entrepreneur, a champion parachutist and an aircraft engineer. The parachutist is a woman.

While they wouldn't be traveling to outer space, they would go beyond the troposphere, the lowest of the five main layers of the atmosphere, 7 to 20 kilometers thick, where the weather happens.

The target is the next layer of the atmosphere, the stratosphere, which is very thin, dry and cold. The trip up would be in a high-tech balloon and the trip back in a customized suit with radar, image transmission, ground-based monitoring and communication capability, and, of course, a specialized parachute.

Jiang Fang, founder and president of Space Vision, says many technical experts have endorsed the feasibility of the commercial tour, and China's flight system technology for spacesuits is mature enough for such a project.

"We hope to lead the growth of the domestic commercial aerospace sector by starting with space parachuting, and gradually establish a path for the public to travel in space," he says.

Jiang expects the "space parachuting" trip to cost around 500,000 yuan ($76,400; 68,100 euros). He expects plenty of potential customers in China who have the courage, physical strength, skills and wealth to take the plunge. Professional parachutist He Yufeng intends to become the world's first woman "space parachutist" after her tryout.

"I want to challenge myself, and challenge the current world record of 41,419 meters, which was established by former Google executive Alan Eustace for 'space' skydiving," she says.

The commercial project would be launched in Sanya, in South China's Hainan province, a tropical island with lots of open area around it, clean air and a space launch center.

The island has aspirations to have a comprehensive space travel industry.

By 2030, China hopes to become an aerospace power, thanks in part to the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) to drive aerospace growth. Experts say that with government policy encouraging it, demand for the brand new industry is increasing, and many other private aerospace companies are emerging.

"Participating in space exploration projects needs strict and professional training first," says Pang Zhihao, an aerospace scientist and deputy editor in chief of the monthly Space International magazine.

"Currently, as the United States has the most advanced technologies and management in commercial aerospace projects, we should use them as a benchmark," Pang says.

"Compared with national projects, commercial projects have a faster pace of R&D, lower management costs, and there could be relatively safe and economic solutions for public space travel."

zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn