World View expands into Indo-Pacific with $25M investment

World View, a global leader in stratospheric exploration and flight, announces the closing of a strategic $25M investment from Breakthrough Victoria, an investment company established by the Victorian government to provide long-term capital to innovation businesses and projects that will improve people’s lives and benefit Victoria’s economy.

The strategic investment from Breakthrough Victoria will enable World View to establish a regional Indo-Pacific headquarters in Melbourne. The Indo-Pacific business will operate as World View Indo-Pacific, a wholly owned subsidiary that will allow World View to pursue new customers and access new markets while benefitting from local talent, technology and capital.

The company plans to establish an advanced manufacturing facility in Victoria, creating up to 200 high-tech, high-value jobs in engineering, manufacturing, flight services and support, mission control, data and material sciences, and analytics.

“Australia, especially Victoria, offers access to incredibly skilled talent, cutting-edge technology, promising partnerships, smart capital and significant geographic leverage to support our Indo-Pacific remote sensing and future space tourism operations, while also contributing to our established business in the United States,” said Ryan M. Hartman, World View President and CEO. “We are eager to get to work in Victoria.”

World View Indo-Pacific has established a stratospheric centre of excellence at Melbourne Connect, a leading innovation hub in partnership with The University of Melbourne. This strategic partnership will facilitate stratospheric research and development at universities and research institutions across all Australian states and territories, and eventually into the wider Indo-Pacific region. Additionally, this stratospheric centre of excellence will identify and partner with small- and medium-sized Australian enterprises to develop technology and talent in support of World View’s global supply chain, playing a key role in World View’s international growth.

World View names new chief financial officer and appoints a new member to its board of directors

World View, a global leader in stratospheric exploration and flight, has announced Stephen Wideman as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and former World View Exploration and Tourism Advisory Board (ExTAB) member Lori Garver to its Board of Directors.

“We are excited to welcome Stephen to our executive team, and Lori’s continued counsel in her new role as Independent Director,” said Ryan M. Hartman, President and CEO of World View. “Their extensive industry experience and shared value of space exploration–in all forms–as well as its inherent role in the preservation of our planet will provide crucial insights and guidance as we continue to expand our global remote sensing business and create a radically improved future for our planet.”

As CFO, Wideman will oversee all of World View’s financial activities including accounting and controllership, planning and analysis, investor relations, internal audits and reporting. Wideman brings three decades of expertise in the financial industry that will help ensure fiscal responsibility to support World View’s enterprise growth initiatives. His background includes a broad array of experiences in corporate financial management; financial planning, analysis, and risk management; investor relations; and corporate treasury for consumer products to government contracts. More recently, Wideman served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Erickson Incorporated, a leading provider of aviation services. He holds a B.S. in Finance and Economics from Tuskegee University and an MBA from the University of Georgia.

World View Partners with Space Environment Technologies to collect scientific data on Earth’s stratosphere

The partnership will enable World View to outfit its space capsules with advanced technologies to collect radiation and atmospheric data on test and commercial flights starting in 2023.

World View, the leading stratospheric ballooning and space tourism company, announced today a partnership with Space Environment Technologies (SET) to include a suite of technologies aboard World View space capsules that will measure space radiation and other forms of data about Earth’s atmosphere. SET’s system, coined ARMAS (for “Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety”), will accompany World View’s development and commercial space flights from 2023-2024. ARMAS data from these flights will help World View and SET develop a deeper understanding of Earth’s high-altitude environments and the stratosphere. The high-fidelity data will also be made available to the scientific community to advance general knowledge about this most critical and vulnerable part of Earth.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with Space Environment Technologies to use the ARMAS program during our flights and help collect critical data that only few have access to,” said Ryan Hartman, World View’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This partnership is mutually beneficial to both SET and World View, using our test and commercial flights along with ARMAS to gather data and better understand the stratosphere.”

ARMAS was developed by a team led by Principal Investigator Dr. W. Kent Tobiska to measure charged particles and high-energy photons at varying altitudes in the atmosphere and the stratosphere. ARMAS uses an innovative approach with a dosimeter sensor to enhance Earth science research and improve aerospace safety. This technology is similar to that used on commercial airline flights and will give both World View and Space Environment Technologies a better mutual understanding of the data for scientific and engineering use.

Data points gathered during flights in 2023 will be retrieved in real-time, downlinked to the ground, and used in the validated Nowcast of Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation for Aerospace Safety (NAIRAS) modeled radiation environment. When ARMAS data is ingested into NAIRAS, an improved accuracy of radiation dose rates along with airborne flight tracks is accomplished. One ultimate objective of this research is to gather data on radiation exposure by flying in lower radiation regions or spending less time in higher radiation locations. The source of the radiation, whether from galactic cosmic rays, solar flares, or the Van Allen radiation belts, is an example of how the dynamically changing space weather environment can affect the population as we become more technologically advanced.

“The World View and SET partnership allows for stratospheric balloon flight of ARMAS and will open the door to understanding regions of the atmosphere that are infrequently observed,” said Dr. W. Kent Tobiska, Principal Investigator for ARMAS. “This will help us better understand how we reduce radiation exposure for commercial passengers’ stratospheric travel as well as space flight within the next five years.”

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Space tourism company World View reaches 1,000 reservations for flights to the edge of space

World View, the leading stratospheric ballooning and space tourism company, has accomplished a new milestone: reaching one thousand reservations for its space tourism program taking participants to the edge of space in a zero-pressure stratospheric balloon and pressurized space capsule. As seasoned leaders in stratospheric exploration and space tourism, the company has now sold the greatest number of seats in the space tourism category.

World View’s reservations for Spaceport Grand Canyon have also been sold out for the first year, with commercial flights slated to begin in 2024. World View’s reservations come from 32 countries with the United States, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom leading the list. A growing list of Explorers have reserved at multiple spaceports while others purchased additional tickets for friends and family, including 43 reservations for a full-capsule.

Reservations worldview.space

“Reaching 1,000 reservations underscores the passion, excitement and interest for this unique experience that World View offers. This means 1,000 new people will be able to enjoy majestic views of both Earth and space for an adventure that’s never been this accessible to humanity. The fact that the Grand Canyon spaceport flight has sold out for the first year also showcases the market demand and growing interest in space tourism. We have been working diligently to share our purpose-first mission with future guests so that they will join us on the journey to rediscovering our wondrous Earth.” said Ryan M Hartman, President and Chief Executive Officer of World View.

Today’s announcement follows the company’s entry to the space tourism and exploration market in late 2021, offering a more affordable, long-duration and accessible space experience that couples enjoying the unique views of Earth and space. World View voyages will originate out of the Seven Wonders of the World, Stratospheric Edition™
including Spaceports Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef, Serengeti, Aurora Borealis, Amazonia, Pyramids of Giza and Great Wall of China, providing participants the opportunity to experience these wonders from the ground and then view the same location from the edge of space.

Flights cost $50,000 and will lift eight participants and two World View crew members in a zero-pressure stratospheric balloon and pressurized space capsule to 100,000 feet altitude, nearly 23 miles into the stratosphere, for a transformative experience that will last six to eight hours. Participants will lift off before dawn to watch the sunrise over Earth, once at the apogee of 100,000 feet, Explorers will witness the darkness of space, see the stars above, and view the curvature of the Earth.

 

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World View enters the space tourism and exploration market...........Balloons in space....

Stratospheric Balloon Flights Launching from Iconic Global Landmarks, Beginning with Grand Canyon National Park

Citizen Astronauts Selected by Non-Profit Space for Humanity Will Be First to Experience Inaugural Commercial Flights

World View, the leading stratospheric ballooning company, announced an expansion of services that includes the global launch of the first-of-its-kind, edge-of-space experience. The World View space tourism experience is the most affordable, longest duration and most accessible space experience on Earth. As a purpose-first company, World View is focused on inspiring, creating and exploring new perspectives, offering participants more accessibility to space tourism experiences than ever before. World View’s mission is to bring as many people as possible to the edge of space so that at 100,000 feet, they’ll see a world without borders or species and come back driven to make the world a better place. The company believes that by reaching a critical mass of people experiencing what has been labeled the Overview Effect that humanity will be able to markedly improve the future of our fragile Earth.

Mission: Rediscover Earth

Beginning today, World View is accepting deposits for its edge-of-space trips. With an initial deposit of $500, participants can reserve their place in line for commercial flights. Priced at $50,000 per seat with flexible financing options available, the cost is noticeably lower than any other civilian space tourism flight available today. World View’s first commercial flights are expected to begin in early 2024 with non-profit Space For Humanity securing the inaugural commercial flight.

World View voyages will originate out of the Seven Wonders of the World, Stratospheric Edition™, for a stratospheric perspective few have ever seen. The spaceport locations, in order of projected opening date, include:

Grand Canyon, United States
Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia
Serengeti, Kenya
Aurora Borealis, Norway
Amazonia, Brazil
Giza Pyramids, Egypt
Great Wall of China, Mongolia

The World View experience is unlike any other. The voyages, originating out of World View Spaceports at the Seven Wonders of the World Stratospheric Edition™, are built around a 5-day fully immersive experience. Participants will be offered excursions from the Spaceports, enabling them to fully experience and immerse themselves in the beauty, fragility, history, and importance of the areas surrounding the Seven Wonders.

Flights will lift eight participants and two World View crew members in a zero-pressure stratospheric balloon and pressurized space capsule to 100,000 feet altitude, nearly 23 miles into the stratosphere for a transformative experience that will last six to 12 hours. World View participants will rise from spaceports across the world, gently floating in the atmosphere for hours to experience the Earth’s curvature and the darkness of space, taking them four times higher than a commercial flight. From this vantage point, participants will witness the fragility of Earth and appreciate the planet without borders.