TECHNOLOGIES

OUR HISTORY

THE BALLOON : A FRENCH AND EUROPEAN HISTORY
1783

Invention of the hot-air balloon

by the Montgolfier brothers and the gas balloon by Pilâtre de Rozier.

1870

Escape

Ernest Cezanne, ancestor of Vincent Farret d’Astiès, made it possible to escape enemy fire during the Siege of Paris by taking off from the Gare d’Orleans in a balloon 16 meters in diameter, inflated with lighting gas.

1931

Stratosphere

The Swiss pioneer Auguste Picard reaches
16,000 meters (52,500 ft) above Augsburg, Germany, becoming the first living being to reach the stratosphere.

1959

Water on Mars

Audouin Dollfus rises to an altitude of 14,000 meters (46,000 ft) with a telescope and detects the presence of water on Mars.

1960

CNES

Created under the initiative of the scientific community in the early 1960s, (even before the founding of the CNES) the balloon program consists of the design and operation of aerostatic vehicles to carry scientific instruments.

2016

Creation of Zephalto

2024

VOYAGE

The first Zephalto voyagers take off into the stratosphere.

A SAFE AND RELIABLE BALLOON FOR THE STRATOSPHERE

INNOVATION

Since 2016, in the heart of Hérault, in Occitanie, Zephalto has been developing a unique and highly technological know-how with the CNES: Céleste, a balloon capable of taking voyagers into the stratosphere for an unlimited flight time and an unforgettable experience in unprecedented conditions of comfort and safety.

This know-how is based on two major technological innovations in the world of balloons: the altitude regulator and the reusable envelope.
Thanks to these technological advances, Céleste is completely ecological, runs on solar energy, and can be reused indefinitely.

These innovations also ensure increased safety and comfort aboard that make flying accessible to all ages and physical conditions.

IN TOTAL SAFETY

Zephalto places flight safety at the heart of our being,
taking measures that go beyond national, European, and international standards.

OUR INNOVATIONS

The regulator allows for the control of the balloon's ascent and descent, thus providing a more comfortable experience, a more stable flight, and a redundancy of the safety systems.

The protective envelope of our balloon is made of a multi-layer material that can be reused or recycled after each flight. The balloon is powered primarily by solar energy and therefore has a low carbon footprint.

Solar energy also allows for take-offs and landings without the need for lots of infrastructure and offers a great freedom of movement by following the wind.

OUR PARTNERS

Zephalto is part of a long tradition of French aeronautics and an ecosystem of suppliers of excellence in space and aeronautics: world specialists in extreme conditions and exceptional designers: the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for a French-style flight that combines innovation and cutting-edge know-how.

MANNED TEST FLIGHTS

With three crewed low-altitude test flights already completed, Zephalto has proven its innovations in flight.

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