A company is set to offer $200 000 (about R3.6m) balloon rides to the edge of space.
Bosses at Halo Space are planning to give aspiring space tourists the ride of a lifetime by offering a commercial flight on a circular capsule attached to an inflated balloon which will take them 40 kilometres above the Earth and give them the chance to view the curvature of the planet.
Flights are slated to begin in 2025 following the completion of successful trials. Halo Space bosses say each flight will last between four and six hours and they hope to eventually run 400 trips a year from 2029 from bases on four continents.
Each capsule can carry eight passengers and a pilot, and the company hopes to be able to transport around 3 000 passengers per year to the edge of space with tickets priced from $98 000 to $196 000.
Carlos Mira, CEO and founder of Halo Space, said in a statement: "Over the past 12 months we have worked with the best and most experienced companies in the aerospace industry to leverage existing, proven, and safe technology.
"The team is very pleased with what we have achieved in this first year, but we are even more excited about where we are headed – taking thousands of passengers to the edge of space in a life-changing experience up to 40 kilometres above the Earth."
The prototype capsule's first test flight will take place in India in December, while a second test is scheduled for early 2023 and will take off from Halo Space's native Spain.
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Halo Space chief technology officer, Alberto Castrillo added: "Our goal is to successfully launch our flight capsule, reaching an altitude of 35km before descending, and finally landing and recovering the prototype.
"In the process, we will validate the flight simulation algorithms, test the communication between the capsule and the flight control, as well as collect thousands of data points from the sensors installed on the capsule."
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