With only 100 USD / turn, SpaceVR startup gives you the experience of floating in the Universe, watching the Earth in real time

I’ve always wanted to try going into space. But unless there’s a miracle that makes me a natural engineer, perhaps getting this experience through virtual reality is the most likely way for me.

14,000km from the NASA rocket launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Hong Kong, Float Co. Mid-Levels (originally Float On) provides a space travel experience using virtual reality, enhanced by incorporating sensory deprivation therapy.

Virtual reality technology is enhanced by incorporating sensory deprivation therapy.

” In a dimly lit room with neon lights, I entered a tank containing just the right amount of water, saturated with 500kg of salt, twice the salinity of the Dead Sea. I put on my virtual reality goggles. The darkness included The landscape suddenly became the Sahara desert, the snowy tundra, the mountainous terrain I glided across the sea, through the morning light, now through a whirlwind – all yards film was shot from the International Space Station (ISS). The sense of gravity completely disappeared. ”

The experience is advertised under the headline “t experience a panoramic view that only astronauts know before “, created by the founders of San Francisco-based startup SpaceVR. There have been even real astronauts who reviewed, were surprised and thought that the experience was very similar to hovering in orbit.

Founded in 2015, SpaceVR collects high-resolution images and documents from NASA, including footage of the northern lights, views of Earth from the Apollo lunar mission, and more. captured from the ISS.

Overview One, with four cameras with 16K resolution, is expected to be launched into orbit on a SpaceX rocket next year.

However, the inconsistent quality from these materials cannot guarantee a full “cinematic” experience. After a crowd-funding campaign, the company developed its first VR satellite, Overview One, with four cameras with 16K resolution, promising to deliver sophisticated and sharp videos. sharp. The Overview One is expected to enter low-altitude orbit on a SpaceX rocket next year. Satellites allow content to be streamed directly to viewers on the ground, using a specially developed application.

“ I have always admired Elon Musk and the way he tackles big ideas, ” said Ryan Holmes, CEO of SpaceVR. “ I racked my brain thinking, What can I contribute to the world? In 2012, he read The Overview Effect, in which astronaut Frank White describes the intense experience of seeing Earth from space. In the perspective where the Earth is just a small blue ball floating in space, the astronauts are suddenly filled with extraordinary amazement as well as a sense of their own smallness. This effect inspired the short film Overview, in which five American astronauts gave interviews about the experience. In the film, NASA engineer Nicole Scott adds that ” the sensory isolation tank is the only place on Earth that can accurately simulate zero gravity .”

Float tanks are the accidental invention of neuroscientist John Cunningham Lilly in 1954. The tank allows complete isolation of the user from sensory stimuli from the outside world, with a structure created is a soundproof chamber and no light. Inside the tank, the user lies on the surface of the water, the temperature of the water and the air is equal to the temperature of human skin. Float tanks became popular in the 1970s in the United States as a relaxation therapy.

For Holmes, even surreal images were not enough. He attended a seminar on sensory isolation therapy in 2018 to find partners for a new project. Peter Sharp, director of Hong Kong Float On, tried out SpaceVR and in November of the following year, the two companies started working together.

Users say they feel like they’re orbiting the Earth. (Photo: SpaceVR)

“ In a float tank, where the water temperature is equal to the air temperature in the tank, it creates such an immersive experience that you lose your sense of body. Users say they feel like they’re orbiting the Earth .” Holmes said.

Once only in fantasy movies, the dream of space travel is closer to reality than ever. Virgin Galactic plans to start commercial flights next year and expects to serve 400 flights a year from multiple spaceports, each generating more than $1 billion in revenue. The company has sold more than 700 tickets for $250,000 – a number that is expected to grow as demand soars.

As more and more people become interested in space travel, SpaceVR offers an accessible product for many. Holmes has plans for more than 1,600 locations around the world. “ In the past, it would cost you $90 million to go on a rocket into space to have this experience. But now we have simulated it for only 100 USD. We often joke that you won a 100,000% discount .”

Currently SpaceVR is present in more than 15 locations in the US and Europe, Hong Kong is the first in Asia. At this point, only 569 people in the world have had the opportunity to visit space – this number is only 1 in 10 of the number of people who have climbed Mount Everest. For most “Earth dwellers,” this is probably the most accessible way to see the universe.