Soar to the edge of space in a hot air balloon for $ 133,000
The space race between billionaires, Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic), Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin) and Elon Musk (SpaceX), has been going on for over two decades.
In the race to be the first to fly paying customers into space, Virgin Galactic began accepting reservations for the 90-minute ride, 300,000 feet above earth, at $250,000 apiece. By the time it halted sales in 2014 (after a test flight failure), the company had collected deposits from more than 600 aspiring customers. When it resumed ticket sales in August 2022, the price had shot up to $450,000. A hundred more space travelers signed up since then. The first space flight was planned for the 4th quarter of 2022 with over 700 ‘wanna be’ astronauts awaiting space flights on a ‘first-come-first served’ basis. Each of its spaceships can carry up to four passengers. Virgin Galactic expects to fly paying passengers three times a month in 2023. At its current reservation volume, it will take the company a number of years to clear its wait list.
Blue Origin’s 12- minute trip to the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space, 100 kilometres above earth will cost millions, as would the 3-day voyage in a SpaceX capsule circling 574 kilometres above the earth, with three crew members. (Ticket price $55 million to be precise).
As with everything in its early stages, space tourism today is unattainably expensive. But eventually, as technology matures and more companies enter the industry, prices will hopefully go down. Some experts predict that sub-orbital space travel, like that of Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic could cost around $100,000 within a decade. One expert went as far as to say that it may well go down to $ 25,000 or so, in twenty years time.
So, patience is your friend here. However, for those who cannot wait any longer, a much cheaper, low-carbon and low-impact on the environment journey to space may be closer at hand.
Vincent Farret d'Astiès is an aeronautical engineer who has spent most of his career working as a pilot, both for airplanes and hot air balloons. In 2016, he decided to merge his passion for aviation with sustainability, and created Zephalto. Over the last seven years, the company has created Céleste: a pressurized capsule lifted by a stratospheric balloon - and it’s nearly ready to lift off.
From the end of 2024, guests can board the balloon and travel to an altitude of more than 82,000 feet - floating high above 98 percent of Earth's atmosphere. The trip takes 06 hours in total, reaching peak height after one and a half hours before floating, allowing guests to soak up the world’s most epic views and witness the "Overview Effect" (Earth’s spherical curve).
The company's aim is “to travel to the stars without polluting, in harmony with nature, like a sailing boat in the sky.” For Céleste, 58.6 pounds of CO2 is the lowest amount needed for a space flight—that’s as little as the production of a pair of jeans. “Our method of travel is truly in harmony with nature," says Farret d'Astiès. "It depends on the winds, on Earth, and in the stratosphere, on the weather in general. For us, the future of travel is to admire what Earth offers in a sustainable and respectful manner, by using low or neutral carbon.”
Food and drink offerings, ordered ahead of the journey by guests including choosing their lunch from a shortlist of Michelin-starred chefs, brings in a world class personalization experience for each person. The balloon's capsule seats only six passengers per flight, creating an exclusive experience that costs $133,000 per person – with an almost zero impact to the environment.
Hospitality Sri Lanka
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