The Higher Orbits Mission

Higher Orbits is a non-profit with the mission to inspire and engage high-school students through the use of spaceflight, in hands-on, project based learning experiences that are designed to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) and prepare them for future academic and career success by building confidence, perseverance, teamwork, leadership, critical thinking, creativity, and communication skills.

Michelle Lucas

Founder & CEO of Higher Orbits

Michelle spent 10 years working at NASA primarily in International Space Station (ISS) Flight Control Operations Planning and as an Astronaut Instructor in the Daily Operations Group. Her passion for inspiring students led to extensive work with other organizations in STEM outreach. She then decided to form Higher Orbits to continue to work to inspire students about the wonders of STEM through spaceflight.

Edge of Space Contest Winners for Artwork and Student-Led Research Take Flight

All electronic artwork submissions that met the design criteria were flown electronically, but the following artists had their actual physical artwork onboard the test flight of Neptune One:

Age Group 0-6: Joel Mitchell
Age Group 7-11: Ava Crowder & Lennan Kiley
Age Group 12-16: Boula Ross & Emma Lamoureux
Age Group 17-20: Anastasia Cook & Lordina Mensah
Age Group 21+: Annette Winkler & Kevin O’Brien

The public art competition was hosted in partnership with SPACE PERSPECTIVE

Space Perspective, founded in 2019, was created to make spaceflight more accessible to all, and to provide the thrilling opportunity to see Earth as a planet in space. Spaceship Neptune was developed from the onset for maximum safety, accessibility, near zero-emissions and routine operations around the world. The spaceballoon could hold an entire football stadium when inflated and the pressurized capsule is comfortable and spacious.

Flown by a pilot, Spaceship Neptune transports eight passengers, called “Space Explorers,” on a thrilling six-hour journey to space, along with research payloads.

The two-hour gentle ascent above 99 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere to 30480 metres (100,000 feet), Spaceship Neptune glides above the Earth for up to two hours allowing passengers to share their experience via social media, with their friends and family.

Spaceship Neptune then makes a two-hour descent under the spaceballoon and splashes down, where a ship retrieves the passengers, the capsule, and the spaceballoon. Spaceship Neptune’s commercial human spaceflight launches are regulated by the FAA Office of Commercial Spaceflight.