Mercedes-Benz has always represented the pinnacle of mobility and luxury, creating vehicles that provided the most comfortable journey both on and off the roads.
From its technologically advanced S-Class, the boxy, ever-capable G-Class SUV, to the Maybach line of ultra-luxury cars, the legendary German marque has been an automotive North Star for innovation and luxury.
Related: Tesla rival Nissan has some awful news about its electric SUVs
However, a new partnership will take the three-pointed star closer to the actual north star.
The 'Maybach of spacecraft'
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Mercedes, through its ultra-luxury Maybach division, is partnering with luxury spaceflight experience provider Space Perspective to provide the world’s first carbon-neutral spaceflight experience.
Founded by aerospace industry veterans Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum, Space Perspective aims to create accessible, climate-friendly space travel to the masses.
Over the course of a six-hour journey, passengers, dubbed by the company as “explorers,” will be carried in a pressurized capsule called Spaceship Neptune to an altitude of 100,000 feet, more than three times the height that commercial airlines fly.
What sets Spaceship Neptune apart from the spacecraft of companies like Blue Origin, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, is that their craft does not use any fossil fuel-burning engines. Instead, the capsule is carried into the stratosphere using a giant balloon that Space Perspective calls the “Space Balloon,” which is designed to provide a comfortable experience akin to a hot air balloon.
"[In Spaceship Neptune] there's no spacesuits, none of that and instead, we're using a balloon that gently takes people to space to have that quintessential astronaut experience," told Space Perspective founder and co-CEO and Biosphere 2 scientist Jane Poynter to Newsweek.
The cabin of the Neptune is what Space Perspective calls the “Space Lounge,” where “explorers” can take in 360-degree views of Earth, along with other luxurious appointments like first-class meals and cocktails. Mercedes-Maybach’s partnership with Space Perspective involves the use of Mercedes-Maybach electric vehicles to transport Explorers to and from their facilities and the launch site near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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"Our partnership with Space Perspective will allow space explorers to ride in style on the ground, and for us to extend the highest level of Maybach refinement and brand experience to the edge of space." Daniel Lescow, Head of Mercedes-Maybach at Mercedes-Benz Group AG (DDAIF) -) said in a statement. "Pairing our all-electric Spaceship Neptune with the all-electric Mercedes-Maybach represents a sustainable and inspiration-filled future, not to mention a heightened overall experience for Space Perspective Explorers."
In a separate statement, both Mercedes-Maybach and Space Perspective said that they are also “exploring design and hospitality integrations for Explorers’ end-to-end experiences."
Space Perspective have had more than 1,650 bookings for their experience, which are slated to begin with passengers in late 2024. Tickets for the journey do run at a premium, and will run you back at $125,000 per person.
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