Orbital Verses Suborbital: Several companies are currently offering seats on manned suborbital joyrides. Some rocketplane developers are advertising two-hour suborbital trips into space. Beware! An actual suborbital rocketplane ride to the edge of space (or even, as one rocketplane designer has offered, to the upper atmosphere far below the Theodore von Karman's 100-km space boundary line) and back lasts only 15 minutes. Most of the two-hour suborbital trip will be spent cramped inside the rocketplane’s cockpit being hauled up to launch altitude. And then, after the completion of the 15-minute suborbital roller coaster ride, the passengers will have experienced only a few minutes of zero-G (while strapped in their seats) and spent only a few minutes in space.  An orbital spaceflight is a completely different experience. Orbital missions take place at altitudes of 100 plus miles (161 plus kilometers) above the Earth. In a spaceship traveling at 17,500 miles-per-hour (28,226 kilometers-per-hour) in Earth Orbit, passengers experience uninterrupted zero-G, and gaze at nonstop panoramas of the Earth and of limitless space. They can marvel at an unending series of sunsets and sunrises; see the wakes of large ships on the world’s oceans; track weather systems from a wildly new perspective; talk to friends and family from orbit and share the wonder. An orbital expedition is the only way to experience real space flight.

The Neptune SAAHTO: The Neptune SAAHTO is now in development and is expected to be certified for orbital tourism operations in late 2010. It will be capable of placing one astronaut-pilot and five astronaut-tourists into a zero to fifty-one degree, 250-mile low-earth-orbit (LEO), for a  period of up to seven days. The crew module is designed with the highest regard for safety  and comfort. The crew module will include the following safety features:

      1)       Emergency escape rockets to assure passenger survival in the event of a major propulsion system malfunction

2)       An “armored”, multi-shell, carbon-composite/kevlar Crew Module to eliminate capsule depressurization dangers

3)       Multiple-redundant life-support system components

4)       A “center of gravity aft” Crew Module (CM) to assure a heat shield aft attitude during reentry

5)       A multiple-redundant parachute landing system

While on orbit, the crew will spend most of its time inside the Orbital Station Module. The living space is composed of a 12.5-foot diameter and 25-foot long pressurant tank unit. The habitat features include a private window and work area for each astronaut-tourist, private quarters with private toilet and washing facilities, a common recreation area with enough space to truly enjoy the pleasures of weightlessness, and a specially equipped "space gourmet" galley. For more information, click on "Neptune" in the selections above.

All launch and landing operations will take place either form the Pacific Ocean near the equatorial region south of California, or from the waters around the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga.

Customer Options: Tickets can be purchased by individuals of groups. Dedicated private missions can also be scheduled, for example, by private or government research organizations, or by film productions companies.

Payment: Full payment in advance is required for “Promotional Fare” Spaceline tickets. “Full Fare” ticket holders can pay in full or can pay a minimum of $120,000 at the time of purchase followed by payments of $20,000 per month until one year before buyer’s scheduled spaceflight. At that time full payment of any remaining balance will be required.

Schedules and Rules

1)       Your flight will be scheduled according to the order in which IOS receives your full payment.

2)     Ticket holders will receive at least 60-days of pre-flight training. Each will be prepared for all aspects of an orbital space mission, including centrifuge and weightlessness training.

3)    Prior to the training period, each ticket holder must undergo a medical examination to determine if he or she is physically qualified for the flight.

4)   Cancellation: you CANNOT cancel your fare once a contract has been signed. However, your spaceline ticket is transferable with the written permission of Interorbital Systems.

5)       Interorbital Systems reserves the right to refuse anyone the right to participate in its “Orbital Expedition” program.

6)      All tickets are transferable only with the written permission of Interorbital Systems. Interorbital Systems reserves the right to change launch dates and training schedules.

7)      Interorbital Systems expects the buyer to acknowledge that he/she has read the above terms and will agree to abide by them.

8)   “Promotional Fare” spaceline ticket holders will receive a full refund two years after the completion of their space missions.

If you would like to purchase a spaceline ticket, please contact us for contract and payment plan details.

Interorbital Systems P.O. Box 662 Mojave, CA 93502-0662
Copyright © 1996-2007 Interorbital Systems  All rights reserved