Forget the freeze-dried space meals and Tang. One of the first luxury-space tourism companies is hosting a meal aboard in the stratosphere that is priced at $495,000 each. Now, they just need to find a group of six to pay for what amounts as history’s most expensive meal, on Earth or in space.
SpaceVIP has enlisted chef Rasmus Munk, whose Copenhagen-based restaurant Alchemist has earned two Michelin stars since 2020, to cook one of his most impressive meals and serve as host aboard a space balloon. Space Perspective’s Spaceship Neptune can seat eight passengers and a captain. In honor of the occasion, the “astronauts” will be wearing made-to-measure clothing by Ogier. Think stylish space suits.
Space Perspective plans to begin manned test flights by the end of this year, with commercial flights starting in 2025. The company recently received the capsule for Spaceship Neptune, and will begin test flights with its space balloon in the next six weeks. Its MS Voyager ship will be used as its command center, launching, and retrieving the balloon from the waters off the east coast of Florida. Space Perspective is based in the NASA complex on Cape Canaveral.
The meal in the stratosphere takes place in this capsule lounge.
Space Perspective
The six-hour journey will involve ascending at 12 mph in the capsule to about 100,000 feet, where the participants can see the Florida peninsula. A company spokesperson said the meal will be served as the sun rises over the curvature of the earth. The Wi-Fi on board will let the guests report their trips live.
Munk, who focuses on what he calls holistic cuisine, will prepare a series of dishes “inspired by space exploration during the last 60 years of human history.” Beyond culinary delight, the food is meant to inspire a discussion on humankind’s role in protecting the planet. “I want to highlight food as a common thread in our human existence, and it will be truly meaningful to serve it while gazing down at the Earth’s curvature,” the chef said in a statement.
Munk himself has been a space geek since childhood, hooked after he saw the stars at the Copenhagen Planetarium. Alchemist, in fact, has a large planetarium dome that lets its guests dine surrounded by projections of underwater sea life, inside a human body or, appropriately, looking down on the curvature of the earth.
Chef Rasmus Munk, whose restaurant Alchemy has two Michelin stars, wants to open a wider discussion about the fate of Earth during the meal.
SpaceVIP
“This mission is poised to redefine not just private exploration, but the very essence of fine dining,” said Roman Chiporukha, founder of SpaceVIP in a statement.
If the cost of the trip sounds excessive, it is. A typical seat on Space Perspective’s capsule costs about $150,000. SpaceVIP said it will donate the proceeds of the trip to fund the Space Prize, which the company established to promote women in STEM education and gender equity in the space economy.
A SpaceVIP representative said dates for the mission are not set yet, but it should happen sometime next year. Presumably, the firm will also need to find seven foodies with open minds and very deep pockets.