Halo Space Offers Hot Air Balloon Flights to Enjoy Views at an Altitude of 40 Km

JAKARTA - An aerospace tourism company will take passengers on life-changing balloons to the edge of outer space starting in 2025. A ticket to enjoy an extraordinary trip like this one on the plane costs tourists USD 200.000 (IDR 3 billion).

Halo Space, the Madrid-based space company, plans to offer 'zero emissions' commercial flights aboard a circular capsule mounted on an inflated hot air balloon.

The capsule, which will carry eight passengers plus one pilot on each trip. The capsule also has panoramic windows that allow for a 360-degree view of Earth while at an altitude of up to 25 miles (40 kilometers).

Halo Space will conduct the first test flight of a prototype space capsule in India in December.

After completing successful trials, the company will start its commercial flights in 2025 and then plans to install its flight bases on four continents.

Starting in 2029, they will make a total of 400 commercial trips with 3.000 passengers per year, priced between 100.000 and 200.000 euros per ticket.

Customers will be able to see the curvature of the Earth for 4-6 hours. The company claims this to be an 'amazing' experience.

"Over the past 12 months we have worked with the best and most experienced companies in the aerospace industry to leverage existing, proven and secure technologies," said Carlos Mira, CEO and founder of Halo Space, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

“The team is very happy with what we have achieved in this first year, but we are even more excited about our goal, which is to take thousands of passengers to the edge of space in a life-changing experience up to 40 kilometers above Earth,” added Mira.

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

The prototype will fly more than 20 miles (35 kilometers) into the stratosphere (the second layer of Earth's atmosphere) for approximately six hours before landing again. A second test flight is planned for the end of the first quarter of 2023 in Spain.

"Our goal is to successfully launch our flight capsule, reach an altitude of 35 km before descending, and finally land and recover the prototype," said Halo Space's chief technology officer, Alberto Castrillo.

"In the process, we will validate flight simulation algorithms, test communication between the capsule and flight controls, and collect thousands of data points from sensors mounted on the capsule," said Castrillo.

Halo Space claims its pressurized capsules are capable of flying and ascending without CO2 emissions. This makes it the most environmentally friendly way to visit outer space.

The artistic rendering of the company shows a very similar design to that of Florida-based company Space Perspective.

Similarly, the capsule carried by the giant space balloon Space Perspective will carry up to eight guests into the stratosphere, 100,000 feet (19 miles) above planet Earth's surface, for a journey lasting six hours.

In addition to the drinks bar, the 'Space Lounge' in the company's Neptune capsule also features Wi-Fi connectivity and subdued, moody lighting.