A luxury space hotel is being launched by Orion Span in 2021 – but it will cost you £6.8m for a 12-night stay
US company Orion Span has announced plans to open a luxury space hotel in 2021, giving guests a feel for zero gravity and, you’d imagine, some pretty spectacular views.
The Aurora Station, as it has been named, will house six people at any one time for a 12-day stay, with one or more of those including professional astronauts from space agencies around the world.
The station is expected to launch in three years, with passengers being hosted in 2022.
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The plans are for the station to allow passengers to grow food in space at an altitude of 200 miles, while an orbit will be completed every 90 minutes so those on board will see “countless sunrises and sunsets”.
In a blog on the company’s site, Frank Bunger, Orion Span’s chief executive and founder, wrote:
We’re proud to announce Aurora Station – our first orbital community – will launch in late 2021 as the world’s first luxury space hotel.
By early 2022, we will be hosting tourists, astronauts, space research, and manufacturing on board Aurora Station in LEO.
The firm plans to sell space condos too (Source: Orion Span)
There is, as you’d imagine, a slight catch when it comes to the price tag. Anyone can reserve a place on the wait-list now, but you will need an $80,000 deposit to do so.
As for the trip itself – pricing starts at $9.5m (£6.8m), though Orion Span said this is “far below what others have paid to go to space”, and it’s all inclusive.
It’s not stopping there either. Bunger said the Aurora Station has been designed to “grow and respond” to market needs.
When capacity is reached, the firm plans to simply launch another of the same space station and attach it onto Aurora.
He said:
As Aurora Station continues to grow with market demand, we will also sell space condos – your own capacity aboard Aurora Station and future space stations to visit, sublease, or one day live in as you wish.
The firm said technology-driven innovation has led to costs falling, meaning now is the time to really delve into establishing commercially-viable “orbital communities”.
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