Balloons to hoist tourists 100,000 feet into the stratosphere

Commercial space flight is becoming more and more common, with companies including SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic all transporting paid customers into space over the last several years.

People interested in seeing the earth from an unusual vantage point may soon have another option. CNBC spoke to three startups — France-based Zephalto, Florida-based Space Perspective and Arizona-based World View — that aim to hoist tourists to the stratosphere using pressurized capsules and massive gas-filled balloons.

“The capsule itself is designed to to carry eight customers and two crew into the stratosphere,” said Ryan Hartman, CEO of World View. “There will be a center bar where people can gather, and then, of course, there will be a bathroom aboard the capsule.”

The balloon rides will last around 6 hours, but will not take passengers all the way to space. Most will reach heights of 15 to 19 miles above the earth’s surface, flying in an area known as the stratosphere. The start of space is generally accepted by the U.S. government to be around 80 kilometers, or about 50 miles, above the earth’s surface.

Jane Poynter, founder and co-CEO of Space Perspective, has a differing view.

“There is no universal definition of space,” Poynter said. “We are regulated as a spaceship. If we go over 98,000 feet, we are a spaceship. Outside the capsule, it’s essentially a vacuum. We’re above 99% of Earth’s atmosphere, which is why the sky is so deep black.”

Compared to rocket-powered space tourism, the physical sensation that passengers will experience on a stratospheric balloon ride is more comparable to being on an airplane. Passengers will not experience weightlessness.

“We don’t need any physical requirements to board the balloon,” said Vincent Farret d’Astiès, the founder and chief pilot at Zephalto. “If you can board a standard plane, you can board the balloon.”

All three companies told CNBC that they were pleased with consumer interest. World Views says it sold 1,250 tickets so far while Space Perspective has sold 1,800. Zephalto did not tell CNBC how many tickets it sold, but said its initial flights were fully booked.

Ticket prices range from $50,000 per seat with World View to around $184,000 with Zephalto. Space Perspective sells tickets to its experience for $125,000 per seat. That’s all assuming commercial service gets off the ground.

Only Zephalto has performed crewed tests so far, though not at the company’s target altitude of about 15 miles above the earth’s surface.

To learn more about this emerging market, check out the video.