The company in France has also entered the “race” of space tourism. From 2025, the French company Zephalto will provide the world with the opportunity to travel to the stratosphere on a space balloon instead of the amount of 120,000 euros per person.

“I collaborated with the French space agency and we worked together on the design of the space balloon,” says aeronautical engineer and founder of Zephalto Vincent Fare d’Astier.

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Luxury in the Stratosphere

His company set a goal of operating 60 flights a year, carrying just 6 passengers on each flight. Zephalto will bring the essence of French sophistication to the space: gourmet food, wine and interior design will be offered to those who can pay the six-figure price.

In fact, the space ball’s interior design was designed by Joseph Durand, the French designer who created the Valmain and Givency stores in Paris, as well as the chic Loulou and Monsieur Bleu restaurants.

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A post published by Balmain Paris (@boutiquebalmainparis)

Ziphalto also wants to provide its passengers with Michelin-star cuisine, although it has not yet found a chef. While they will have a great view of the Earth from the “dish”, Wi-Fi will also be available for passengers to share the experience with their friends. Finally, a psychologist will be available before the flight.

So far, Zephalto has made three test flights, although none of them have reached an altitude of 25 kilometers. When all tests are completed, the Zephalto space balloon will receive an airline certificate from European Aviation Safety Agency.

Back and forth in space in 6 hours

The space balloon will be filled with helium or hydrogen, take off from France with two pilots and reach an altitude of 25 kilometers above the ground (three times higher than conventional flights). The trip to the stratosphere will take 1.5 hours.

The balloon will remain at its maximum height for three hours, allowing passengers to feel like astronauts. The return to Earth will take about 1.5 hours. The total duration of the entire experience will be 6 hours.

“We chose 25 kilometers because that’s the height you’re at in the darkness of space and you have 98% of the atmosphere below you. So you can enjoy the curvature of the earth. In other words, you are in space, but without weightlessness,” Fare d’Astier explains.

Space tourism competition

Zephalto is not the only company offering space balloon flights. American Space Perspectives will offer trips up to 30.5 kilometers from the Earth’s surface from 2024 and with a cheaper ticket (€114,087.50).

After all, there have already been private flights to “space” on Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic rockets and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.

Unlike its competitor, Zephalto offers landing on land rather than at sea, along with a luxury package. Traveling in a hot air balloon is much calmer and less dangerous than traveling in a rocket and does not require any preparation.

Atmospheric balloons have been used by scientists and meteorologists since the 1930s and will gradually begin to be used for space tourism.

According to Bloomberg

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