SpaceVR Wants to Help You Become a Couch Astronaut

Would you like to explore space without having to shell out $250k for a seat on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo? A startup called SpaceVR plans to offer a virtual reality experience that may be the next best thing. If they succeed, all you’ll need is a subscription and a VR headset .

The company recently launched a $500,000 Kickstarter campaign to cover the cost of sending a 3D multi-camera rig up to the International Space Station and to fund its first year of operations. The goal is to send the cameras up in December as part of a resupply mission.

“We’re sending a virtual reality camera to the Cupola module, the observation deck of the International Space Station (ISS) to capture immersive 3D video—giving you the chance to have the same experience the astronauts get in real life,” SpaceVR writes on its Kickstarter site.

“Our camera, the Overview One, will be assembled on the ISS. We’re developing space-ready cameras, fans and the PCB boards to send up and are using a 3D printer on board to make the camera chassis and stand, ensuring we can get the VR camera running as quickly, cheaply and efficiently as possible.”

Space VR wants to make new virtual reality footage available on weekly basis for those who pay a subscription fee and would ultimately like to deliver a live virtual reality streaming experience.

A number of pledge levels are available, ranging from $5 to the $10,000 Space Experience package, which includes “a ride in a parabolic flight wearing a Samsung Gear VR…so you actually feel like you are in the International Space Station.”

See Wired’s story here.

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