Zephalto’s Stratosphere Balloon Rides — The Future of Luxurious Space Tourism?
In a world where space tourism has become a reality, French startup Zephalto has set its sights on the stratosphere. With a unique and luxurious approach to space travel, the company plans to send tourists on a six-hour round trip for €120,000 ($132,000) per person using a space balloon by 2025.
The Experience
The pressurized capsule Celeste would have an interior room of 20 square meters, accommodating six passengers and two pilots. Zephalto founder and aerospace engineer Vincent Farret d’Astiès states that the reason they chose 25 km high is that it is the altitude where the viewer is in the darkness of space with 98% of the atmosphere below them, providing them with the ability to enjoy the curvature of the Earth in the blue line but without the zero gravity experience.
Gourmet meals, wine tasting, and sharing the experience instantly with people back on Earth via Wi-Fi would be available both before and during the flight. The balloon, filled with helium or hydrogen, would depart from France and rise 25 km over about one and a half hours, hovering for three hours at peak altitude before descending back to the ground.
Backing and Future Plans
The company has secured backing from high-profile players, including Airbus, Dassault, National Center for Space Studies (CNES), and European Space Agency (ESA). It aims for 60 flights per year once it begins commercial operations.
Zephalto has conducted three test flights with pilots on board, though they have yet to reach the full altitude, and expects to hit the target height in a test flight later in 2023. In addition, crewed high-altitude balloons have risen to over 34km. However, the technology has never gone commercial yet, with Space Perspective and Worldview, both US-based and Spanish startup Zero2Infinity also developing their own versions.
The Zephalto Experience & The Celeste Capsule
Balloon trips offer a cheaper and more sustainable alternative to rocket-based space tourism. Zephalto claims that the first Celeste flight will mark the lowest amount of CO2 a space flight generates: 26.6 kg for the entire 6-hour journey. In addition, unlike rockets, passengers would not need significant training and medical checks before flying with Zephalto. The company claims anyone healthy enough to fly on an airliner can board a space balloon.
The interior of Zephalto’s balloon is designed by French designer Joseph Dirand, known for his minimalist design style. The onboard experience will be tailored to individual customer preferences, with Michelin-star quality cuisine provided. In addition, Wi-Fi will be available on the balloon for passengers to share their experience with friends and family back on Earth — an option to speak with a psychologist before the flight is included in the fare.
Zephalto will provide a much more serene and less risky tourism experience than rockets. Scientists and weather researchers have used balloons capable of reaching the stratosphere since the 1930s. Still, Zephalto is bringing the experience to tourists with the added luxury of gourmet food, wine, and design. With backing from top aerospace companies and a plan for 60 flights per year, Zephalto’s Celeste balloon could start a new era in sustainable and accessible space tourism.
