Travel to the edge of space in this giant 'space balloon'

If you want to travel into space, you would think you would need to take a ride in a rocket or a spaceship.

But space "balloons" might be able to take us close and fly over Earth in the nearby future.

It's not going to work quite like the Disney Pixar film 'Up', but a company called Space Perspective is hoping to take space fans into the stratosphere, which is a layer of the earth's atmosphere, inside their 'Spaceship Neptune' balloon.

The organisation which is based in Florida hopes to launch flights from the Kennedy Space Centre in late 2024.

The bad news is it's likely to cost lots of money to go - and Space Perspective say people are already reserving seats.

How will it work?

The missions will last 6 hours: two hours travelling up (ascending), two hours floating and two hours traveling down (descending)

For space flights like this, the balloon is filled with gas such as hydrogen to cause it to rise up into the atmosphere.

Once the balloon reaches its peak altitude, which is around 30km up in the sky (this is much higher than planes fly to), it will float and stay in the Earth's atmosphere allowing much more time for people to enjoy the view up in the air.

Space Perspective say journeys will be able to last up to six hours and trips will not harm the environment because no rocket fuel is used and the balloons do not release carbon emissions in the way rockets do.

The company also says it gets it's hydrogen from more renewable energy sources.

This is an artist's version of the inside of the capsule and some beautiful views above Earth passengers might enjoy

Eight passengers and one pilot are allowed inside the balloon's capsule in one trip.

The balloon will also have a pressurised capsule underneath it where passengers will be able to sit inside, eat, drink, walk around and look out at the 360 degree views of Earth and space without even needing to wear a spacesuit!

The first test flight for this balloon took place in June 2021.

What do you think of this form of space travel? Would you prefer to travel in a space balloon or a rocket? Let us know in the comments below.