Source: http://www.theverge.

com/2013/10/22/4866026/paragon-world-view-space-tourism-balloon-
trip-announced

Latest space tourism trip uses balloon to take passengers 100,000 feet up

By Dante D'Orazio
on October 22, 2013 11:19 am

You may soon have a less expensive way to get into space. A new space tourism venture plans to bring
visitors 30 km (about 100,000 feet) into the stratosphere in what is essentially a space-ready air balloon
for $75,000. The capsule won't technically be in space — and that's not high enough to enter orbit and
achieve the sensation of "weightlessness" — but there should be a wonderful view of the curvature of
the Earth, the blue atmosphere around it, and the dark void beyond. Those joining in on the trip won't
have to undergo training, and they'll spend two hours up at that height, where they'll be free to stand
and walk about the cabin. Trips could start as soon as 2016.

The new project comes from World View, a subsidiary of Paragon, which makes equipment for the
International Space Station and other space applications. Paragon is also the company behind an
ambitious plan to send astronauts to Mars by 2018. World View itself isn't a rocket — it is a pressurized,
four-ton capsule that can hold up to eight passengers, according to The Wall Street Journal. A helium-
filled, high altitude balloon will carry the capsule to its maximum height. Few details are available, as
World View has to go through plenty of regulatory and testing hurdles before becoming a reality, but the
project is not so different from Felix Baumgartner's trip in the Red Bull Stratos last year, which took the
skydiver to a height of 128,000 feet. Instead of having passengers jump out of the capsule like
Baumgartner, however, the World View itself will be piloted down to a predetermined landing spot using
a parafoil.

The plan joins a number of other privately funded space tourism projects, the most well-known of which
is Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, which charges $250,000 per head and sends passengers over 100
km — allowing them to experience "weightlessness." The first flight is planned for sometime next year.
Another private space flight company, called XCOR, has its first flight to 65 km set for next year as well.
Both use rockets to propel the ships into the upper reaches of the atmosphere, and are therefore able to
achieve much greater heights than the World View.

Vocabulary: Match the underlined words/phrases from the article that have the following meanings:

1. a problem that you have to deal with before you can make progress - hurdles

2.to push or move something somewhere, often with a lot of force - propel

3. a new activity, usually in business, which involves risk or uncertainty - venture

4. relating to the most important characteristics or ideas of something; basically – essentially

5. a large hole or empty space - void

6. a company that is owned by a larger company - subsidiary

Reading Comprehension:

1. The balloon trip will allow a person to experience the sensation of floating in the air. True/False

2. The space tourist would be able see the roundness of the Earth. True/False

3. World View is ready to be used. True/False

4. It is uncertain where the balloon will land after its voyage. True/False

5. It will cost a potential passenger a quarter of million pounds to travel by Virgin Galactic. True/False

6. To whom does the "Virgin" brand belong? > To Sir Richard Branson

7. How long will the passengers of World View be at the highest altitude? 2 hours