Delaware native’s company is out of this world

You could say Middletown native Andrew Antonio is in the tourism business.

But instead of the Caribbean or Africa, the company he works for has a more ambitious destination in mind – space.

“I’ve wanted to be a space entrepreneur since I was a kid,” Antonio said. “It’s like a dream come true for me.”

Antonio, 24, is an “experience manager” for World View Enterprises in Tuscon, Arizona, one of only a handful of private companies attempting to commercialize spaceflight.

While other companies are toying with rockets to make it past the atmosphere, World View is hoping to use high-altitude balloons to carry eight-person capsules 20 miles above the earth.

The company launched a scaled-down test flight in June. It plans to launch its first manned flights in 2016 and launch commercially in 2017.

Video taken from test flights shows extraordinary views: the earth curving away in the distance, continents stretching out under clouds and the sun cresting white above the horizon.

Company engineers say the balloons will allow for a gentler, more comfortable ride. In fact, Worldview’s brochures say its capsules will feature food, Wi-Fi, and restrooms, and no special training or equipment will be necessary for a ride.

“We like to equate it to sailing rather than taking a jet boat,” Antonio said. “You’ll be able to relax with a cocktail and enjoy the view. We’re already talking about doing lectures, photography, painting classes, live music, things like that.”

Another advantage of the balloons is a longer flight. Antonio said each “experience” will last about five hours, with several hours at peak altitude.

At the moment, tickets for one of the flights cost $75,000 a piece. Antonio said the company hopes to get the cost down to $20,000.

World View’s leaders include Capt. Mark Kelly, a former NASA Astronaut who spent more than 50 days in space, and Alan Stern, who was NASA’s chief of all space programs.

Most of the company is made up of engineers working to get the capsules off the ground, so Antonio’s job is to manage the marketing and sales side.

He got the job after applying on a lark while working his way through the leadership track at a “massive corporate conglomerate.”

“I was working 12 hours a day and doing something that, when it came down to it, I didn’t really care about,” Antonio said. “I had one of those moments where I was just like, ‘Is this what I want to do with my life?’ ”

After seeing a news story about World View trying to get up and running, Antonio sent an email to the CEO saying he’d be fine getting paid half as much if it meant he could work for a spaceflight company. Before he knew it, he had been hired as the first employee after the two founders.

“I couldn’t believe it was happening,” Antonio said.

Antonio hopes his story encourages others, especially kids, to shoot for their dreams.

“Growing up, I felt like, well, there wasn’t a space community in Delaware, but that didn’t stop me,” he said. “Don’t think about the reasons you can’t. Think about the ways you can.”

Contact Matthew Albright at (302) 324-2428 or at malbright@delawareonline.com.