Stephenson’s ‘The Aurora’ – A Celestial Marvel for HALO’s Space Tourism Ambitions

In a design endeavor that seamlessly blends cutting-edge engineering with cosmic inspiration, renowned designer Frank Stephenson has lifted the veil on “The Aurora” – a groundbreaking spaceflight capsule crafted for HALO, a pioneering space tourism venture.

Characterized by lightweight materials, spacious seating, and expansive viewing windows, Stephenson’s vision for The Aurora promises an otherworldly experience for those daring enough to venture into the final frontier. With a total take-off weight of just 3,500 kilograms, the capsule’s ingenious design, employing aluminum alloys and composites, defies convention while accommodating eight passengers and one pilot in supreme comfort.

Drawing from the architectural marvels of the Space Age, Stephenson has adorned The Aurora’s interior with a mesmerizing array of curved lines, reflective surfaces, and a seating arrangement that evokes the very assembly of the cosmos itself. Flanked by a staggering 2.82 square meters of viewing windows, passengers will be treated to unparalleled vistas of Earth from the edge of space, their surroundings mirroring the grandeur of the heavens through the strategic use of reflective materials.

“Crafting a beautiful interior for passengers while considering factors like strict safety regulations and weight distribution posed significant hurdles, but we were fully committed to offering both luxurious aesthetics and functionality,” Stephenson shares. “I am immensely proud of what we have achieved.”

HALO Space, the visionary company behind The Aurora, has ambitious plans to open its doors to 10,000 space tourism and commercial passengers by the year 2030, with inaugural flights slated to commence in 2025.

The road to commercial space travel has been paved with meticulous testing and preparation. In September 2023, The Aurora successfully completed four test flights at the dry lake of Cuddeback in California, lifted by a helicopter to an altitude of 2,000 meters. Prior to this, HALO Space conducted its inaugural test flight in December 2022 in Hyderabad, India, where a prototype capsule was lifted to a staggering 37 kilometers using a stratospheric hydrogen-filled balloon.

During the ascent, The Aurora will gradually rise from Earth’s surface within a spherical-shaped helium balloon, also designed by Frank Stephenson Design, minimizing gravitational forces. The company estimates flight times ranging from four to six hours, reaching a maximum altitude of up to 35 kilometers.

As the space tourism industry continues to evolve, HALO Space is actively developing initiatives to remove financial barriers, aiming to make the celestial wonders of space exploration accessible to a wider audience. While pricing for The Aurora’s voyages has yet to be determined, Stephenson’s design stands as a testament to the boundless potential of human ingenuity and our unwavering quest to explore the cosmos.