A French company plans to take passengers into the stratosphere, floating 25km above the Earth’s surface for three hours in an elegant mirrored capsule held aloft by a balloon. The capsule is courtesy of the designer behind some of Paris’ “it” restaurants.
The Zephalto company will send the 215-square-foot Celeste capsule in partnership with CNES, the French national space agency. Created by Parisian architect and designer Joseph Dirand, the capsule promises spectacular views from its windows, which it calls the largest on the market at 75 square feet. The project will be launched at the end of 2024 after seven years of preparation.
Aeronautical engineer Vincent Farret d’Astiès founded Zephalto in 2016 in the south of France. His goal was to create a low-carbon alternative. According to the company, the trip aboard Céleste will consume about 60 pounds of CO2, the same amount needed to produce a pair of jeans.
“Architecture has a function and that, together with my deep passion for hospitality, has caused an inspiration for this innovative and groundbreaking project,” Dirand said in a press release. “It’s an unusual journey through space and so for an architect like me who ultimately spends his time imagining experiences, it’s one of the most unique to design.”
The interior of the Céleste capsule, designed by Joseph Dirand for the French company Zephalto. Courtesy of the Bacchus agency.
Zephalto joins US companies Spatial perspectives And Worldview companies yearning to take Earthlings into the stratosphere, but judging by the images, their journeys won’t be in such a sleek vessel.
“I am delighted to have built the bridge between my dream of space travel and reality,” said d’Astiès, the founder of Zephalto. “Those who share my desire to travel in harmony with the elements and the sun and the wind can finally do so aboard Céleste. Our team of experts have worked very hard to create a ship that the [French aviators] The Montgolfier brothers would have been proud.
Six passengers will depart from France on the capsule, piloted by a team of two, and climb to cruising altitude in 90 minutes, at 13 feet per second. The six-hour trip will include three hours at the highest altitude, more than nine miles above commercial aircraft. The trip will be accessible to people of all ages and physical conditions, the company said, with no pre-flight training required.
The lobby of the Céleste capsule, designed by Joseph Dirand for the French company Zephalto. Courtesy of the Bacchus agency.
Celeste’s mirrored exterior, as Dirand described it, reflects both the terrestrial and celestial universes between which it will fly, while the three residential-style interior cabins, each carrying two passengers, are designed in a palette cream and beige. The capsule will gently rotate during flight, allowing a 360 degree view for all on board.
Dirand designed the Parisian restaurants Loulou, Monsieur Bleu and Girafe, as well as the New York restaurants Le Jardinier and Shun (both in Norman Foster’s 100 East 53rd Street skyscraper) and the OTAM 85 GTS speedboat.
The trip will feature Michelin-starred cuisine from French chefs focusing on molecular and experimental dishes, and of course passengers will be able to post the experience on Instagram for their friends and fans to follow, since Wi-Fi will be available.
Zephalto bills itself as the world’s first luxury space travel experience. A pedantic person might point out that space doesn’t start for at least 50 miles, but who’s counting? Additionally, passengers will only pay $132,000 each, considerably less than the roughly $250,000 they would spend to get into real space for even a few minutes. Either way, passengers will see what astronauts call the “big picture effect,” seeing the curvature of the Earth, an experience the astronauts have described as transformative.
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