zero2infinity Inbloon Project Claims They Had The Idea First

A company called World View recently made a splash with a release about a concept to carry passengers to the fringe of space beneath a huge balloon. Now, a second company called zero2infinity Inbloon is calling "foul", saying World View got the idea from them.

Inbloon is a Spanish company which says it has been working on the concept since 2002, according to its founder Jose Mariano Lopez Urdiales. He says that three small-scale test flights have been conducted, and that a ride to the fringe of space would cost about $150,000.

Arizona-based World View is offering trips for about $75,000, but details remain thin. Paragon Space Development Corp., which is backing World View, says that the company has been developing the concept for at least 10 years.

Urdiales told Universe Today that the two companies were collaborating for some time, with Paragon planning to provide life support systems for Inbloon. He said "They learned about our business and what we were doing" and then told the Spanish company they did not think they could export the technology to Spain. Later that month came World View's announcement. "The commonalities are striking," Urdiales told the website.

World View said they had been looking into balloon flights to the high stratosphere long before they heard of Inbloon. They pointed out that human flight in high-altitude balloons is not a new concept.

(Mission profile image provided by Inbloon)

FMI: www.inbloon.com, www.worldviewexperience.com