Space Perspective favours Dubai for balloon launches

Space Perspective

• High-altitude balloon flights
• Gulf said to be showing interest
• Richard Branson is an investor

US company Space Perspective says it is in talks with Gulf countries about hosting rights to launch its high-altitude balloon flights. 

The company will operate flights carrying a luxury capsule into the stratosphere to a height of around 30km.

Taber MacCallum, founder and chief technology officer, said at a tourism conference in Dubai that it was “very interested” in the region, especially the “competitive environment between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and Qatar and Saudi Arabia”.

The first commercial flights will take place in 2026 after further test flights over the next year, MacCallum said.

“It could be a marine-based flight, so that it launches off of Dubai. The ability to launch from land or a ship expands our launch capability,” he said. 

The company’s CEO Michael Savage told the Skift forum that Dubai had a lot to offer as a launch location.

“This is a target launch site for us. Being able to launch from Palm Island, to be able to go up and see the Burj Khalifa underneath, to see all these recognisable landmarks – this is one of the most beautiful areas we could launch from,” Savage said. 

MacCallum, co-founder Jane Poynter and British entrepreneur Richard Branson are to be among the first passengers, after Branson said in October he was investing in the company. Branson’s Virgin Galactic is developing its own space tourism craft. 

Florida-based Space Perspective completed the first unmanned test flight of its balloon-lifted capsule to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere in September. 

• Near-space balloon flights to start from Abu Dhabi next year
• UAE marketing enters the YouTube age with MrBeast video
• Saudi adventure tourism climbs to new heights

The same month, its Spanish rival Halo Space failed to launch an unmanned test flight from the Al-Aflaj oasis 330km south of Riyadh due to a technical fault. 

“During a final manoeuvre to align the capsule with the wind immediately before launch, the crane holding it was unable to lock it in position, halting the launch,” spokesperson Barbara Calixto told AGBI, adding that a new target date for the flight has been set for spring 2025. 

Halo Space has sought to woo Saudi authorities with promises of localising manufacture of its capsule to Saudi Arabia as well as encouraging its customers to spend time in the country as part of a broader space tourism package. 

MacCallum said pre-launch tickets were already selling, with increasing interest from high-net-worth-individuals in the Gulf. 

“We’re beginning to get traction already. We initially launched in the States so a portion will be in the US but we’re very rapidly getting more interest,” he said, referring to the UAE and Saudi Arabia.