At the end of 2024 Zephalto, a company formed by aeronautical engineer Vincet Farret d’Asties, will welcome travellers aboard Celeste. For the past seven years the company has dedicated itself to creating Celeste – a pressurised capsule lifted by a stratospheric balloon – that aims to introduce a low-carbon option to the commercial space market. 

The balloon will ascend to an altitude of 25 kilometres and will float high above 98% of the earth’s atmosphere. The round trip will take a total of six hours. It will take around 1.5 hours for the balloon to reach its peak height in Earth’s stratosphere, after which it will float at that height and allow guests to take in the view. 

Zephalto aren’t the only ones attempting to turn sustainable space travel into a reality. The Space Perspective are also on a mission to send people to space via balloon. The company was set up in 2019, but no word on when they plan to open ticket sales to the public just yet. So, Zephalto remains one step closer.

Keen to float into space with Zephalto? The experience will cost around $200,000 AUD. Which is significantly cheaper than Virgin Galactic’s ticket price which comes in at a whopping $680,000 AUD. Don’t quite have the coin for this kind of travel? Try this Qantas sale instead. 

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