Space tourism start-up Zephalto invites tourists for fine dining lift off

Haute gastronomie: In 2018, champagne house Mumm created a bottle of champagne able to dispense drink in zero gravity. Photo / Pernod Ricard, GH Mumm

An ambitious fine dining experience could involve passengers enjoying a Michelin-star meal 25km above the ground – if French space tourism start-up Zephalto is able to execute its grand plans.

Zelphalto seeks to develop a low-carbon “stratospheric” balloon, which will carry a “state-of-the-art” pressurised capsule to “the edge of space” for a view of Earth at extreme heights. The journey will not venture into the realms of space itself, but sit above “98 per cent of the atmosphere”. Zelphalto claims the journey will last for six hours, with ascent and descent expected to take 90 minutes each (four metres per second). That leaves passengers to enjoy three hours of fine dining, said to include full-course meals and French wine tastings.

The conceptual aircraft has been named “Celeste” but neither the design nor engineering of the vehicle has been specified or released. The company references specific events in the history of balloon development, including that of Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, who manned the first balloon flight, and Auguste Antoine Piccard, who broke the record for highest hydrogen balloon flight in 1931. However, the details about the engineering at Zelphato, which is partnered with CNES, are more vague.

Despite this, the company is already selling “pre-reservations” for tickets aboard a voyage in 2025, at €10,000 (about NZ$17,300). The total ticket price is currently listed as €120,000 (roughly NZ$208,000). Lift-off for the first space voyage aboard Celeste has been loosely scheduled for 2024 in France.

Space tourism is an industry that has had various wins and losses since its inception. US million Dennis Tito is widely regarded as the first space tourist, after he spent seven days aboard the International Space Station EP-1. More recently, billionaire Richard Branson spent a short five minutes in zero-G on a Virgin Galactic space trip, after cruising the Kármán line for 90 minutes. SpaceX has also made repeat headlines, chartering tourists on orbit rides.

In 2018 French champagne house GM Mumm tried to anticipate the demand for fine dining in space. It developed a special champagne bottle in collaboration with the European Space Agency, able to dispense sparkling wine in zero gravity.

Some industry leaders claim space tourism is on the rise, so it might be time to get prepared if you’re looking to holiday among the stars.