Space firm will conduct test flight of its balloon capsule in December

A space tourism firm will whisk passengers on a ‘life-changing’ balloon rides to the edge of space from 2025 – but a ticket on board will set you back $200,000. 

Madrid-based company Halo Space is planning to offer its ‘zero emission’ commercial flights aboard a stylish circular capsule attached to an inflated balloon.

The capsule, which will carry eight passengers plus one pilot per trip, has panoramic windows that allow 360-degree views of the Earth while at an altitude of up to 25 miles (40 kilometres). 

Halo Space will be conducting its first test flight of a prototype of its space capsule in India in December, the firm has announced.  

Halo Space will be conducting its first test flight of a prototype of its space capsule in India in December, the firm has announced

Once it completes successful trials, the company will start its commercial flights in 2025 and later plans to have flight bases installed in four continents.

From 2029, it will make a total of 400 commercial trips with 3,000 passengers per year, priced between 100,000 and 200,000 euros per ticket ($98,000 to $196,000).

Customers will be able to see the curvature of the Earth for 4-6 hours – a ‘mind blowing’ experience, the firm claims. 

‘Over the past 12 months we have worked with the best and most experienced companies in the aerospace industry to leverage existing, proven, and safe technology,’ said Carlos Mira, CEO and founder of Halo Space.

‘The team very pleased with what we have achieved in this first year, but we are even more excited about where we are headed – taking thousands of passengers to the edge of space in a life-changing experience up to 40 kilometers above the Earth’. 

Halo Space’s prototype will take off in the third week of December at the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research (TIFR) balloon facility located in Hyderabad, India.

The prototype will soar just over 20 miles (35 kilometres) into the stratosphere (the second layer of the Earth’s atmosphere) for approximately six hours before returning.

A second test flight is already planned for end of the first quarter of 2023 in Spain. 

The capsule will carry eight passengers plus one pilot per trip. Halo Space wants ‘to make space travel accessible to all’, although prices for commercial flights will be between 100,000 and 200,000 euros per ticket ($98,000 to $196,000)

‘Our goal is to successfully launch our flight capsule, reaching an altitude of 35 km before descending, and finally landing and recovering the prototype,’ said Halo Space chief technology officer Alberto Castrillo.

‘In the process, we will validate the flight simulation algorithms, test the communication between the capsule and the flight control, as well as collect thousands of data points from the sensors installed on the capsule.’

Halo Space claims its pressurised capsules ascend without CO2 emissions, making it ‘the most environmentally friendly way to visit space’. 

Halo Space’s prototype will take off in the third week of December at the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research (TIFR) balloon facility located in Hyderabad, India

Artistic renderings from the company show designs that look much like those from Florida-based firm Space Perspective.

Similarly, capsules carried by Space Perspective’s giant space balloons will take up to eight guests into the stratosphere, 100,000 feet (19 miles) above our planet’s surface, for a trip that lasts six hours. 

As well as a drinks bar, the ‘Space Lounge’ inside the company’s Neptune capsule includes Wi-Fi connectivity and subdued, moody lighting.