Comfort, luxury and a unique view of the Earth
HALO Space, a stratospheric balloon company, has announced plans to offer space travelers a new level of space tourism comfort. Instead of the traditional cramped space suits and G-forces typically associated with rocket flight, the company offers an experience with swivel seats, panoramic windows and gourmet cuisine inside a pressurized capsule attached to a helium-filled balloon.
The company unveiled the capsule design, called Aurora, at an event in London on April 10. Commercial operation is expected to begin in 2026.
Unlike other suborbital space tourism companies such as Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, HALO Space will not lift passengers high enough to experience weightlessness. The flight will last up to six hours, of which about four hours will be spent in the stratosphere at an altitude of about 35 kilometers above the Earth's surface. This will allow passengers to enjoy views of space and the planet from a unique perspective.
«Astronauts say the experience of observing the planet from above — this is truly a unique experience», — HALO Space CEO Carlos Mira noted at a press conference, — «At the moment, only 650 people have had the opportunity to experience this effect. But you don't have to go into space to experience this feeling. We hope to offer this experience to 1,000 people by 2030».
HALO Space — one of two companies that are preparing the balloons for commercial use in the next two years. Another Florida-based company, Space Perspective, is also working in this direction and unveiled a completed test model of its Neptune spacecraft in February. HALO Space has reported five mock-up test flights and plans to conduct the first crewed test in 2025, beginning commercial flights a year later.
Both companies hope their offerings will appeal to a wider audience than the expensive rocket flights of Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, which offer short periods of microgravity. The strategy of HALO Space and Space Perspective is aimed at providing a unique and comfortable space tourism experience that can interest a larger number of potential customers.