You can soon board a balloon into space

Tech company World View is launching

$50,000 rides into the stratosphere

cheaper than Virgin Galactic or Blue Origin

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT AND CEO OF WORLD VIEW, RYAN HARTMAN, SAYING:

"The ability to ascend to 100,000 feet and have a balloon that has zero pressure on it is really important. What that means is that the pressure on the inside is identical to the atmosphere pressure on the outside and that being the case, if you have a hole in the balloon, it's not like it's going to pop or anything.It's not going to have any kind of massive impact."

The balloons are different from other space tourism

Passengers won't experience weightlessness

But they can see the Great Barrier Reef

and the Great Wall of China

LOCATION: TUCSON, ARIZONA

The space balloon is filled with helium

and rises at 12 miles per hour

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT AND CEO OF WORLD VIEW, RYAN HARTMAN, SAYING:

"Our technology is a way to do this that is also earth-friendly. So it's one thing to blast off to the edge of space in a rocket and view the Earth. I don't believe you're having a net-positive contribution to a healing planet, whereas using an approach where you're using a natural resource from the Earth."

World View is taking $500 deposits

for flights set to begin in early 2024