Visitors Now:
Total Visits:
Total Stories:

By Moon And Back
Contributor profile | More stories

Story Views
Now:
Last Hour:
Last 24 Hours:
Total:

zero2infinity Adds Famous Russian to Edge of Space List

Tuesday, February 19, 2013 19:45

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

(Before It's News)

Blogger-Designer Artemy Lebedev will Become First Russian “bloonaut”

BARCELONA, Spain — zero2infinity announced today the first Russian to book a flight on their bloon to the edge of space. Artemy Lebedev lives in Moscow and is the founder of design company Art.Lebedev Studio. He is one of the most successful web designers in Russia and a prominent blogger.

“My dream is to see the whole world, so far I have visited most of the countries. With the bloon I will really see the whole world – on a single journey”, says Artemy Lebedev. A very avid traveler and adventurer, he set a personal goal of visiting all the countries in the world. At the young age of 37 he has already visited over 170 countries, including places like North Korea, Pitcairn, Easter Island, Swaziland, as well as both Poles. He therefore didn’t hesitate when he found the opportunity to go where very few people have been before: the edge of Space.

Russia is the land of the father of rocketry, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, and of the first cosmonaut to fly into Space, Yuri Gagarin. But Russia was also at the forefront of ballooning in the early days of the 20th century. Georgy Prokofiev was the commander of a crewed stratospheric balloon flight in 1933 that went up to 19km, setting an altitude record at the time.

“We are very happy that our first Russian “bloonaut” is Mr. Lebedev, he is a true adventurer and an entrepreneur who sees opportunities and uses existing technology in innovative ways in his design. This fits well the values of our company. He will be among our first flying guests, and we are working hard to make this happen in 2015”, says José Mariano López Urdiales, Founder and CEO of zero2infinity.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Photo from a recent unmanned test flight of bloon. – zero2infinity

bloon is a pod designed by zero2infinity that will take passengers up to Near-Space to admire the view of the Earth thanks to high-altitude balloons. The flight will take off from Spain and offer a leisurely 2 hours at maximum altitude to take in the experience and change your perspective on Earth forever. “We believe high-altitude balloons provide an amazing opportunity to see the Earth from Space in a safe and comfortable manner. The view at 36km is not so different than the view at 100km, the sky is black, the atmosphere is below, the curvature of the Earth is clearly visible” explains Mr. López Urdiales.

Bookings can be made through bloon agents, a network of exclusive travel designers around the world, and the price is set at 110,000 €uros. A 10,000€ deposit is required for your name to be added to the list. Details can be found at www.inbloon.com