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Take A Balloon Journey To Space, Complete With Fine Dining!
If you’d like to experience spaceflight, but aren’t ready to jump aboard a rocket-powered or ultrasonic spaceship, why not take a more leisurely balloon option?
If you’re a millionaire looking to broaden your horizons, commercial spaceflight is undoubtedly one of the most popular ways to take travel experiences to new heights.
But what if you’re nervous about being strapped into a rocket-powered or ultrasonic spacecraft and looking for a more sedate journey into the stratosphere?
Luckily, a French company, Zephalto, has you covered with their $132,000 (AED 485,110)-balloon experience that floats gently to the 25km-high second layer of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Well-heeled passengers will board the Céleste — Zephalto’s pressurized balloon capsule — at a spaceport in France. One hour later, space travelers will reach a peak altitude three times higher than the cruising height of commercial airliners.
When the capsule arrives at peak altitude, guests will stay in the stratosphere for around three hours, where they’ll be treated to two gourmet meals, aperitifs, wine tasting, and get the opportunity to take the most original high-altitude Instagram snaps.
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Although a niche and expensive pastime for the ultra-wealthy, space tourism is estimated to be worth $8 billion by 2030 — over ten times the current market size of 2023. Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin are now well established in the high-end travel sector, and SpaceX’s Elon Musk has recently proposed an even more radical excursion — a Moon loop flight aboard the company’s Starship craft.
Meanwhile, astronaut boot camps such as US-based Orbite now offer space training for as little as $15,000 (AED 55,088), while well-known commercial airline builders such as Airbus and Boeing are also competing for a slice of the space-tourist pie.
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NASA Forms New Partnership With Saudi Space Agency
The pair will collaborate on the Center for Space Futures, advancing space tech by bringing together public and private stakeholders.
Saudi Arabia’s space industry is on the brink of substantial expansion after generating $400 million in revenue in 2022, according to a report by the Saudi Communications, Space and Technology Commission.
Now, in a new venture with NASA, plans for a “Center for Space Futures” are set to further drive the Kingdom’s aspirations of becoming a leading player in space exploration and technology.
Capturing moments from the joint delegation visit with leaders from the Saudi and American Space Agencies @NASA to @PSU_RUH, along with scenes showcasing the audience's engagement. pic.twitter.com/oB1cFTiRNl
— وكالة الفضاء السعودية (@saudispace) May 14, 2024
The partnership between NASA and Saudi Arabia goes beyond economic advantages. The pair have already cooperated on preliminary work for the Artemis II lunar mission, which is slated for a September 2025 launch and aims to land astronauts near the moon’s South Pole.
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During a visit to the capital, Riyadh, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson emphasized in a TV interview the broader objectives of the collaboration, which encompass “returning to the moon and then [to] Mars” while utilizing space exploration to glean important insights into climate change. The NASA spokesman also reiterated the space agency’s dedication to collaborating with Saudi Arabia on other future ventures.
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