Iwaya Giken: Helium Balloon Space Tourism Takes Flight in Japan
- AKAP
- Sep 3, 2023
- 2 min read
Japanese start-up Iwaya Giken is advancing high-altitude travel using helium balloons for space tourism. After conducting its first human-crewed test flight reaching 6km in late July, the company aims to achieve a 25km altitude by the end of 2023. Iwaya plans to offer commercial flights by Mar'24, initially costing US$164,000 per passenger but with ambitions to reduce prices and make space travel more accessible, joining the ranks of established space tourism players like Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic.
