I might not understand your concern but to me this seemed clear enough:
> The first stage is an airship that travels from the ground to 140,000 feet. There it will dock with a waystation floating at the top of the atmosphere. Cargo and crew then transfer to a large 'Orbital Airship' for the nine day journey to orbit.
> The first stage is an airship that travels from the ground to 140,000 feet
Right, this is the entirety of their description of that airship. An airship which is supposed to go higher than any plane has ever flown [1], within the realm of high-altitude balloons [2].
EDIT: It looks like it just balloons up to 140k feet.
> The first stage is an airship that travels from the ground to 140,000 feet. There it will dock with a waystation floating at the top of the atmosphere. Cargo and crew then transfer to a large 'Orbital Airship' for the nine day journey to orbit.