If and when passengers climb into Halo Space’s capsule for a ballooning trip to the stratosphere, they’ll find cushy seats, fold-down receptacles for food and drinks, floor-to-ceiling windows that provide an astronaut’s-eye view of the curving Earth below — and a snug toilet to get them through the hours-long flight.
The interior design for Halo’s capsule, dubbed “The Aurora,” was unveiled on April 11 in London by Halo Space CEO Carlos Mira and famed automotive designer Frank Stephenson.
“Passengers will spend up to six hours inside our spaceship, and we want every minute to be unforgettable,” Mira said in a news release. “Frank and his team have created a capsule to enhance our flight experience, utilizing unique resources, design and technology.”
Halo Space is aiming to begin commercial service by 2026 with ticket prices starting at $164,000. It’s one of several companies targeting the stratospheric tourism market, a lineup that also includes World View, Space Perspective, Zero 2 Infinity and Zephalto.
Although these stratospheric tours are typically marketed as spaceflights, they wouldn’t go anywhere near as high as the suborbital rocket ships built by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic — 20 to 25 miles for Halo Space, as opposed to 50 miles for Virgin Galactic. On the plus side, the trips would be much less expensive, and arguably less risky.
Halo Space has already conducted five flight tests of prototype capsules, and plans to do the sixth test in Saudi Arabia in June. The company is working with regulatory agencies to set up bases in Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Australia and Spain — in desert-like places that Mira characterized as being “in the middle of nowhere” with open skies.
The tours would be weeklong experiences, with the stratospheric flight serving as the climax. “It’s more than ‘glamping,'” Stephenson said at the London news briefing. “It’s a high-level experience.”
On the day of the flight, before dawn, up to eight passengers would join a pilot in custom-designed seats positioned around the rim of the Aurora capsule for the balloon’s liftoff. “We want our passengers to enjoy the sunrise from above the atmosphere,” Mira said.
Mira said the ascent should feel like a fast elevator ride, rising as rapidly as 12 mph. After a two- to three-hour rise, the passengers would have one to two hours to check out the view of a curving planet beneath the black sky of space. Each passenger would be issued a computer tablet and an augmented-reality headset to enhance the onboard experience.
There wouldn’t be a lot of room to roam around the 16-foot-wide capsule — but there would be food and drink service, and a toilet that’s about the size of an airliner’s restroom in the center of the capsule. Check out these design illustrations:
When it’s time to return, helium would be released from the balloon to begin the descent. At an altitude of roughly 4 miles, the pilot would deploy a parachute, and the capsule would sail down to a landing.
Stephenson said he designed the capsule’s interior to address technical requirements as well as safety and comfort. “I would be willing to sign up to be the first test pilot or chimpanzee that goes up with it, or whatever,” he said. “The more we’ve gotten into the project, the more we realize that we’re really working on something incredibly special.”
If Halo Space follows its business plan, the company expects to be flying 3,000 customers per year by 2030.
Will that business plan get off the ground? Success is not guaranteed. Halo Space, which is headquartered in Spain, has brought in $3 million in investment so far, according to Pitchbook. That’s far less than the $77 million that Space Perspective says it has raised. The company is also involved in a legal dispute with Zero 2 Infinity over the alleged use of trade secrets, according to Space News. (Halo Space has denied Zero 2 Infinity’s allegations.)
Then there are the issues relating to safety and regulatory clearance. At this week’s London news conference, the first questioner referred to last year’s OceanGate undersea disaster — in which five people, including the company’s CEO, were killed. “Is this a new way for rich people to kill themselves?” the journalist asked.
“Well, I think that Frank mentioned that he wants to be among the first flying,” Mira answered. “I myself will be the first flying. So we are not suicidal at all. Safety for us is the top priority.”
He pointed out that Halo Space’s balloon flights would take advantage of 200 years of precedent, and decades’ worth of trips to the stratosphere. Mira also noted that Halo Space would rely on tried-and-true aerospace technologies, with a method of propulsion that’s much gentler than the methods used by space launch companies.
“We are not using rockets — it’s a huge difference,” Mira said.
