Photo: Halo Space
The new promised land of economic boom that is the commercial space industry manifests itself in many ways. Most of the companies operating in this business are going for rocket-launched (or rocket-powered) spaceships that can take civilians to the edge of space for brief views of the Earth from above. Few are even planning on taking people to space stations as soon as more of them will be in orbit.
But fewer still are considering a different approach, like, say, flying paying customers on high-altitude balloons. In fact, we've encountered this approach only twice over the past few years, from two different companies.
The first would be the one called Space Perspective. It's an organization established in 2019 by a group of people that four years prior helped former Google VP of engineering, Alan Eustace, beat Felix Baumgartner's record for a jump from the stratosphere.
Space Perspective plans to strap a pressurized capsule to the underside of a balloon the size of a football stadium and lift up to eight people plus the pilot to altitudes as high as 100,000 feet (30 km). Granted, that's not actually in space, as the Karman line, the agreed boundary to space, only starts at 62 miles (100 km) above the surface of the planet, but it should ensure some really exciting views of the world.
The second company in this business is called Halo Space. These guys have been around for just three years, having been founded in 2021, but they too plan to rethink the idea of space tourism.
Just like Space Perspective, Halo plans to strap a passenger capsule to a helium-filled balloon and send it up to an altitude even higher than the competition's, 131,000 feet (40 km). It too will offer the experience for eight paying passengers and a pilot.
Space Perspective gave us a first glimpse at the interior of its capsule, officially called Aurora, some while ago, but Halo had nothing to offer on this front. That changed this week, when the company revealed the first images and just a touch of details about the cabin.
The capsule's interior design is the work of one Frank Stephenson, one of the most appreciated car designers and the man behind some truly legendary vehicles, like the Ferrari F430 or the McLaren MP4-12C.
We're told the Aurora is made of aluminum alloy and composites as not to weigh very much – it only tips the scales at 7,700 pounds (3,500 kg). All around there are expansive windows that allow an unhindered view of the planet below – the windows total 30 square feet (2.82 square meters).
The interior of the capsule has a central hub around which the seats for the passengers are placed, facing outward. We're told the arrangement is "reminiscent of the arms of the Milky Way," but to be honest, I kind of fail to see the resemblance.
The central hub I mentioned earlier is actually the capsule's bathroom. The thing needs one because, unlike the very short trips to space provided by the likes of Virgin and Blue Origin, flights with a helium balloon will last for as much as six hours.
Halo Space has plans to begin commercial operations as soon as next year, which is what Space Perspective is gunning for as well. For Halo, the pace of the flights should accelerate rapidly after that, with at least 400 trips planned by 2029, and no fewer than 10,000 passengers expected to board the capsule by the end of the decade.
The first would be the one called Space Perspective. It's an organization established in 2019 by a group of people that four years prior helped former Google VP of engineering, Alan Eustace, beat Felix Baumgartner's record for a jump from the stratosphere.
Space Perspective plans to strap a pressurized capsule to the underside of a balloon the size of a football stadium and lift up to eight people plus the pilot to altitudes as high as 100,000 feet (30 km). Granted, that's not actually in space, as the Karman line, the agreed boundary to space, only starts at 62 miles (100 km) above the surface of the planet, but it should ensure some really exciting views of the world.
The second company in this business is called Halo Space. These guys have been around for just three years, having been founded in 2021, but they too plan to rethink the idea of space tourism.
Just like Space Perspective, Halo plans to strap a passenger capsule to a helium-filled balloon and send it up to an altitude even higher than the competition's, 131,000 feet (40 km). It too will offer the experience for eight paying passengers and a pilot.
Space Perspective gave us a first glimpse at the interior of its capsule, officially called Aurora, some while ago, but Halo had nothing to offer on this front. That changed this week, when the company revealed the first images and just a touch of details about the cabin.
The capsule's interior design is the work of one Frank Stephenson, one of the most appreciated car designers and the man behind some truly legendary vehicles, like the Ferrari F430 or the McLaren MP4-12C.
We're told the Aurora is made of aluminum alloy and composites as not to weigh very much – it only tips the scales at 7,700 pounds (3,500 kg). All around there are expansive windows that allow an unhindered view of the planet below – the windows total 30 square feet (2.82 square meters).
The interior of the capsule has a central hub around which the seats for the passengers are placed, facing outward. We're told the arrangement is "reminiscent of the arms of the Milky Way," but to be honest, I kind of fail to see the resemblance.
The central hub I mentioned earlier is actually the capsule's bathroom. The thing needs one because, unlike the very short trips to space provided by the likes of Virgin and Blue Origin, flights with a helium balloon will last for as much as six hours.
Halo Space has plans to begin commercial operations as soon as next year, which is what Space Perspective is gunning for as well. For Halo, the pace of the flights should accelerate rapidly after that, with at least 400 trips planned by 2029, and no fewer than 10,000 passengers expected to board the capsule by the end of the decade.
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