Once again, my boundless gratitude – and tumultuous envy! – to Raven Lunatick for learning about this before me and making me aware of it. It’s called the “Claim Your Place In Space” challenge, a social media campaign that offers a ticket on a maiden space voyage, and which is being hosted by the Royal Aviation Company – or Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KLM), as they are known in the Netherlands.
In just a few days time – eight days and fourteen hours as of the time of this article’s writing – they will be launching a high altitude balloon from the Nevada Desert that will ascend into Earth’s orbit. When and where the balloon pops is the subject of the social media campaign they are conducting, and people are encouraged to place bets by selecting the specific altitude and grid references where it will happen.
The person who is closest will win the ultimate prize: a flight aboard the companies new zero gravity SXC Lynx Spacecraft! Much like Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, this aerospace ship is a prototype that is intended to serve as the mainstay for the company’s commercial space flight fleet in the near future. But unlike the SS2, this vehicle is capable of performing its own take offs as well as landing.
Also relying on a rocket engine, but weighing considerably less than the SS2, the plane has successfully demonstrated the ability to perform vertical takeoffs from a runway, achieve a maximum speed of over mach 2.9, and achieve a suborbital ceiling 100 km above sea level. The entire flight will last only a few minutes, and aside from the pilot only one person will be on board… the winner!
To enter, simply go to space.klm.com and place your bets on where and how high the balloon will go. Then join me, Raven, and anyone else looking for a free trip to space in waiting with baited breath for the official draw on April 22nd. I wish everyone who enters luck, but you’ll forgive me if I secretly want this all to myself! Go orbital balloon, hit my grid spot, pleaaaase! Daddy needs a flight into space!
And of course, be sure to check out this promotional video:
Source: space.klm.com
Stories by Williams 
This is cool.
I still think we should be fussing over solving problems on Earth before we go into space, though.
Well this is mainly for putting objects in orbit, or sending people to and from Earth to an orbiting station and possibly onto the Moon. Then again, by 2030 and after, Mars is likely to find its way in there too. Basically, we’re going and you can’t stop us! Neener! 😛
Hasam il-buass ker emun dohar may gi-yon! We, the Dark Ones, will not allow you to ascend into the Heavens. And even if you do succeed, there are those who will put an end to your aspirations. All you have to do is see what happened in Babel all those years ago!
Wait, that was YOU? You’re the reason I have to use Google Translate so much?!
Asu et-kibay nartas el-mialla. Doom kir millit fagu partis jenen.
Actually this is all part of an ancient language that predates humanity. There’s no written form of it accessible to humans, so Google Translate has nothing to do with it…soma de-ereh.
No, I mean that you confounded the languages and made this thing known as language studies required. Not to mention all this language barrier stuff… Not cool, Dark Ones. Not cool!
Oh, that’s not all we did. You know the spinning wheel of death and those times when you call customer service but all you get is a robot?
You evil, evil buggers! Well I’m going into space and you can’t stop me! Harumph!
We can’t stop you…but what will happen to your wife and your students if you go?
Don’t you dare threaten… I will turn religious and ask God to smite you!
Try it, we’re doing this on His orders.
Gah! I told God to stay out of my way! I guess he’s not one to listen either…
Tell me about it. I told him to do Y2K, but NO! He says it messes with his plans for the Arab Spring and its effects on the future!