zephalto's space balloon will take you to the stratosphere in 2025

on board the luxurious ‘celeste’ capsule by zephalto

‘Embark on the most pristine spaceship of the 21st century‘, writes Zephalto, a French company exploring new and daring solutions for space travel. The spaceship in question, ‘Celeste’, will be lifted by a low-carbon balloon, taking ambitious travelers on a groundbreaking voyage across Earth’s stratosphere. The space balloon and capsule are expected to launch in 2025, thanks to the joint effort of a group of engineers and worldwide experts. According to Zephalto, this groundbreaking invention takes cues from a six-decade-long balloon flight experimentation by the French Space Agency (CNES).

‘Celeste’ capsule | all images courtesy Zephalto

The metallic-like ‘spaceship’, as the Zephalto team describes it, is a pressurized capsule designed as ‘a state-of-the-art object providing you with the best comfort and safety conditions. Built by the best technical teams and designed by a world-famous architect renowned for his work on pristine designs and high-end interiors, our capsule will allow you to fully appreciate this extraordinary travel.’

the space balloon lifting visitors to an altitude of 25km

embarking to the stratosphere thanks to a space balloon

The cosmic experience unfolds into four parts. For boarding, travelers will depart from one of Zephalto’s spaceports and enter the pressurized ‘Celeste’ capsule, which will be lifted by the low-carbon balloon the size of the Sacré Coeur in Paris. While ascending at a speed of 4m/s, users will get to absorb stunning views of the earth as they move further up. After an hour and a half of travel, the capsule reaches climax, at an altitude of 25km, above 98% of the atmosphere. At that point, the dramatic curvature of the earth emerges, offering travelers exclusive access to the ‘overview effect’. Lasting about 3 hours, the journey concludes with a gentle descent while onboard staff guide guests to help them understand what they are flying over.

view from inside the pressurized capsule

a full-package luxury travel

Beyond organizing a panoramic viewing experience, Zephalto is also bringing in French luxury and the ‘art de vivre’ with a pre-flight gourmet meal prepared by famous French chefs, followed by wine tasting and the option to host events while flying. Last but not least, the space program offers guests the chance to learn how to capture stratospheric images with the help of a professional photographer.