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Branson-Backed Balloon Tourism Firm Cuts Staff as Cash Drains

Richard Branson, chairman and founder of Virgin Group. (AFP PHOTO / JANEK SKARZYNSKI)

(Bloomberg) -- Space Perspective, a Richard Branson-backed startup that wants to take tourists to the stratosphere in a balloon, furloughed almost all of its workforce late last year after running low on cash.

Only a handful of employees are now working at Titusville, Florida-based Space Perspective following the measures, which were announced internally in November and December, said people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the situation is confidential.

Last week, Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority filed a legal complaint against Space Perspective, alleging the company owed more than $90,000 in unpaid rent between May and November. A notice of default issued on Dec. 2 warned that the airport authority will terminate the leases and evict the company if it fails to make the full payment in 10 days from the date of the letter.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed the furloughs and said it was positioning itself as it moves through its next round of funding. Space Perspective didn’t respond to further requests for comment about how many jobs were impacted, the reasoning behind the move and the airport authority’s lawsuit. 

The company, which had nearly 140 workers last year, has furloughed about 75% of them as it seeks new investors, Chief Executive Officer Michael Savage told Florida Today. “We’re not shut down. There is a skeleton team continuing to work, with the goal to bring back the broader team the minute we have financing,” he said.

The temporary job cuts come just a few months after Space Perspective completed an uncrewed flight test of its Spaceship Neptune capsule, designed to be lifted by a hydrogen-propelled balloon. The company wants to begin selling six-hour panoramic balloon rides into the stratosphere at a price of $125,000 per passenger starting in 2026.

Jane Poynter, who co-founded Space Perspective with Taber MacCallum in 2019, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in April that the company had sold more than 1,750 tickets. The balloon concept is a “very well-understood technology” that had been flown thousands of times by NASA and the European Space Agency, she said.

Space Perspective has suffered from longer-than-expected timelines as well as costs to buy and retrofit MS Voyager, a ship for launch and recovery of the balloon, two of the people said.

Space Perspective raised a total of $100 million from investors including Prime Movers Lab and SpaceFund, according to a statement from September.

Branson, an entrepreneur and adventurer who founded Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., was among those who made an investment and had previously laid out plans to co-pilot the first crewed test flight this year. The billionaire has been a cheerleader for experimental space missions, establishing ventures such as Virgin Galactic. Another, Virgin Orbit, shut down after a failed mission in 2023.

Space Perspective is among companies such as Zephalto and Zero 2 Infinity exploring how to transport people in giant balloons to look out over the Earth. 

Space Perspective has said it will offer food, drinks, Wi-Fi and a restroom to eight passengers and a pilot onboard the capsule, according to its website.

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