Zephalto, a new player in the commercial space industry in Europe, is using balloons for space tourism by offering lunch at the edge of space. Vincent Farret d’Astiès, founder and aerospace engineer of Zephalto, collaborated with the French space agency to develop a unique idea.
With just six passengers on board, Zephalto aims to provide the best of French hospitality, such as fine food, wine, and design, to the edges of space. They are planning to offer 60 flights annually, beginning in 2025, at a cost per person of $132,000
Details of the Flight
The balloons will be filled with either helium or hydrogen and will depart from France with two pilots on board. They will ascend 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) into the stratosphere, about three times higher than a commercial airliner.
The flight will last for one and a half hours, and once at peak altitude, the balloon will remain there for three hours. During this time, the guests will have the opportunity to admire views previously seen only by astronauts. The descent will take another hour and a half, making it a six-hour round trip.
When you are at an altitude of 25 kilometers, Farret d’Astiès adds, you are in the darkness of space, and 98% of the atmosphere is below you. Because of this, they decided to utilize this height as their base.
Guests will be able to enjoy the curvature of the Earth as a blue line. They will be in the darkness of space, but without experiencing zero gravity.
Zephalto As a Company
Zephalto differentiates itself from its American competitors by landing on the ground instead of in the sea and emphasizing its luxurious design.
Unlike rockets, space balloons offer a more serene tourism experience that does not require any prior training. If you are physically capable of flying on a commercial airline, then you are also physically capable of flying on this space balloon.
While scientists and those studying the weather have been using balloons that are capable of reaching the stratosphere since the 1930s, Zephalto is the first company to provide crewed tourism in one of these balloons.
A Florida company plans to fly passengers to the edge of space in a pressurized capsule air balloon! Each ticket is $125,000. pic.twitter.com/CJ101JeuDO
— SAY CHEESE! 👄🧀 (@SaycheeseDGTL) July 3, 2020
Zephalto has recruited French designer Joseph Dirand to create the interiors of its space balloon. Dirand, who is famous for his minimalist design style, will ensure that passengers on the balloon have an unobstructed view of the Earth.
According to Dirand, “I hope that our guests will return to Earth with new perspectives towards our precious planet, its beauty and how to protect it better.”
Other Companies Offering Trips to Space
Space Perspectives, based in Florida, is offering trips on the Neptune One spacecraft. Although it goes a little lower than Zephalto (19 miles), it costs less at $125,000, and flights will begin in 2024.
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. and Blue Origin LLC are also offering civilian space flights using rockets. These flights include an option to experience weightlessness and have already taken space tourists such as Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos into space.
Blue Origin is planning to restart its voyages by the end of this year, following an unmanned rocket crash in 2022.
Zephalto’s initiative has been a long-held dream of its founder, whose family history is connected to balloon flight. His great-great-great-grandfather escaped Paris on a balloon during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Farret d’Astiès intends to take his family’s balloon legacy even further by getting a little closer to the stars.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
