An ambitious fine dining experience could involve passengers enjoying a Michelin-star meal 25km above the ground – if French space tourism start-up Zephalto is able to execute its grand plans.
Zelphalto seeks to develop a low-carbon “stratospheric” balloon, which will carry a “state-of-the-art” pressurised capsule to “the edge of space” for a view of Earth at extreme heights. The journey will not venture into the realms of space itself, but sit above “98 per cent of the atmosphere”. Zelphalto claims the journey will last for six hours, with ascent and descent expected to take 90 minutes each (four metres per second). That leaves passengers to enjoy three hours of fine dining, said to include full-course meals and French wine tastings.
The conceptual aircraft has been named “Celeste” but neither the design nor engineering of the vehicle has been specified or released. The company references specific events in the history of balloon development, including that of Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, who manned the first balloon flight, and Auguste Antoine Piccard, who broke the record for highest hydrogen balloon flight in 1931. However, the details about the engineering at Zelphato, which is partnered with CNES, are more vague.
Despite this, the company is already selling “pre-reservations” for tickets aboard a voyage in 2025, at €10,000 (about NZ$17,300). The total ticket price is currently listed as €120,000 (roughly NZ$208,000). Lift-off for the first space voyage aboard Celeste has been loosely scheduled for 2024 in France.
