‘Space balloon’ to launch from Saudi Arabia

Halo Space

• Tourists can go for $100k
• September unmanned test flight
• First commercial flight due in 2026

Spain’s Halo Space said this week that Saudi Arabia will be one of the regular launch sites for its commercial near-space balloon project, giving a boost to ambitious Saudi tourism plans. 

An unmanned test flight will take place in the second half of September from a location in the Al-Aflaj oasis 330km south of Riyadh, officials from the Madrid-based company told AGBI. 

The capsule, known as Aurora, will rise 30km from the Earth’s surface on the company’s sixth test flight, which is being coordinated with Saudi Arabia’s regulatory Communication, Space and Technology Commission. Earlier test flights took place in Spain. 

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If all goes well, the first manned test flight will be in 2025 and first commercial flight in 2026.

The company wants to schedule 400 commercial trips and carry 3,000 passengers a year by 2029, starting at a price of $100,000 per person for the six-hour journey. 

Halo Space CEO Carlos Mira said Saudi Arabia would be a permanent base for the company in the future, though the location of that launch site was not yet finalised. 

“Saudi Arabia will host one of our four global launch bases,” he said, adding that customers would be able to spend up to a week in the country before each flight until optimal weather conditions emerge. 

“Our passengers will travel to Saudi Arabia and have plenty of time to explore the country’s ever growing tourism attractions, its culture and gastronomy,” Mira said.  

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Space has become a new frontier in Saudi Arabia’s $1.25 trillion economic transformation programme. 

The Public Investment Fund, which is leading the reform projects, launched Neo Space Group in May to invest in satellite navigation and communications, Earth observation and remote sensing.

The Saudi Space Agency also intends to launch two nanosatellites per year. 

Saudi Arabia has set a target for tourism to account for 10 percent of GDP by 2030. Most of its projects are aimed at affluent and ultra-rich tourists, such as the hotels in the Red Sea Global resorts, the Magna resorts inside futuristic city Neom and the ancient desert ruins of AlUla. 

The country will also play a role in manufacturing spacecraft for Halo, which was developed as an incubator project by the Middle East arm of Belgium-based management consultancy Arthur D. Little. 

“Halo Space’s decision to establish its flagship operational base and final assembly site in Saudi Arabia underscores the kingdom’s ideal conditions for space exploration activities,” a statement said.