This revolutionary project is all set to take the dining experience to new heights. In a jaw-dropping announcement, Houston-based space exploration company Zefalto revealed its ambitious project to bring haute cuisine to space.
Working in collaboration with renowned chefs and experts in space technology, Zephalto is on track to open the first Michelin-starred restaurant on the edge of our planet. Those lucky enough to get tickets will be able to enjoy a panoramic view of the curvature of the Earth while tasting dishes made from fresh and carefully selected ingredients. Imagine savoring a delicious dish while watching the aurora dance on the horizon!
Space enthusiasts, dreamers, investors, industrial partners & future stratonauts: join us as we prepare our touristic balloon cruises in the stratosphere! Follow our work here or get in touch for more info!!
👋@LaFrenchTech @FranceAngels @atout_france @SpaceAngels @Occitanie🎈 pic.twitter.com/dUqLmerpV4— Zephalto (@zephalto) October 2, 2020
Sure, because for Zephalto, “it’s not just about the food, it’s also about the complete sensory experience.” The French startup is selling “prebook tickets” for upcoming trips to space that secure your seats when they go on sale. Cost? The experience isn’t for everyone, the presale is around $130,000. Of course, a special French wine is included with the company’s luxury dinner.
The company maintains that tickets for the first flights from 2024 to mid-2025 are already sold out. Advance reservations that are on sale now give people the opportunity to reserve seats on flights only from mid-2025. But there will be more trips soon, the founder of the company also assures that they aim to make a total of 60 trips per year and depart from different parts of the world.
Dinner in Trax
Powered by a giant balloon filled with hydrogen or helium, Gefalto’s pressurized capsule will ascend 25 kilometers into Earth’s atmosphere. The balloon will ascend at a speed of 4 meters per second for 90 minutes and will have a capacity of six passengers and two pilots. In this first phase of the project, the trips will start from the French spaceport.
The space restaurants, called “Trax,” are being designed with a minimalist approach that allows passengers to focus their attention on the windows, not their immediate surroundings. Plus, the ships will have Wi-Fi so diners can post a picture of their cosmic dinner to Instagram in real time.
We chose an altitude of 25 kilometers because this is the altitude where you are in the dark of space, with 98% of the atmosphere below you, so you can enjoy the curvature of the Earth at the blue line. You are in the darkness of space, but without the experience of zero gravity.
The flight will take a total of six hours, including one-and-a-half-hour ascent, three hours for lunch, dinner and sightseeing, and one-and-a-half hours to come back down to earth. “We chose the 25 kilometer altitude because that is the altitude where you are in the dark of space, with 98% of the atmosphere below you, so you can enjoy the curvature of the Earth at the blue line. You are in the darkness of space, but without the experience of zero gravity,” said Vincent Faret d’Estes, an aerospace engineer and founder of Zefalto.
In addition, to ensure the quality of food in space, Zephalto developed a system for growing plants on board. The astronaut-chefs will grow fresh herbs and vegetables in a controlled environment, ensuring fresh and healthy ingredients for the dishes. Space tourism has certainly never looked so stylish and every aspect of the experience will be a celebration of science, gastronomy and exploration.
