Astronaut Will Take You to Edge of Space via Balloon

Former NASA shuttle commander Mark Kelly — also known as the other half of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) — announced Sunday he was joining a space startup called World View as Director of Crew Operations. World View's plan: to take customers 100,000 feet up in a capsule that dangles from a giant helium balloon

That height, roughly 19 miles above the surface of the earth, is considered the end of the atmosphere, though space itself doesn't technically start until 62 miles up. But 19 miles is far enough up that you can see stars, and a globe-like look to the ground below. "I'm excited to give people the opportunity to do something only astronauts have done before," Kelly told Mashable. "Until you've experienced that yourself, you really have no idea. Words and photographs never do it justice ... The stars are bright and they don't twinkle."