Space Hotel Slated to Open in 2012
Source: telegraph.co.uk
Few hotels can offer their guests a view that boasts a sunrise 18 times in a day, but a new space tourism company is promising just that by building the first hotel in space.
Galactic Suite, a private space tourism company, is planning to build a three-bedroom hotel using pods joined together in orbit. They hope to be open for business by 2012.
But tickets for a trip aboard the Galactic Suite will not be cheap, with a three-day stay costing about £2 million.
For that price, the company claims it will train customers for their space flight on a tropical island before flying them to the hotel. Once there, they will be able to enjoy spectacular views of the Earth and experience life in zero gravity. The hotel is expected to make a complete orbit of the Earth every 80 minutes, so in 24 hours the sun will rise and set behind our planet 18 times.
Xavier Claramunt, a director with the Barcelona-based company, says they have already achieved substantial financial backing for the £3 billion project from a wealthy space enthusiast and a series of other companies.
One American company intent on colonising Mars has also added its support after seeing the hotel as a first step towards the red planet, while other private investors from Japan and the United Arab Emirates are in talks.
Mr Claramunt refuses to reveal the identities of his backers, but says there are more than 40,000 people in the world who could afford to stay at the hotel.
He said: "Whether they will want to spend money on going into space, we just don't know.
"I'm hopeful that the impact of seeing the earth from a distance will stimulate the guests' urge to value and protect our planet."
It is not the first time that there have been proposals to build a hotel in space. In the 1960s Hilton proposed establishing an orbiting hotel and the American company Bigalow Aerospace has been building the prototype of an inflatable space hotel.
Space tourism is now seen as one of the biggest drivers of exploring the solar system in the future as wealthy individuals pursue the ultimate thrill-seeking trip. The space flight outfit Space Adventures has sent five private tourists into orbit with the help of the Russian space programme.
Sir Richard Branson's plans to send his parents and children on the first flight in his own space tourism venture suffered a setback last month when three people were killed during a test of the rocket systems to be used by Virgin Galactic
Bo Maxwell, managing director of the Mars Society UK, said: "Like the aviation industry before it, I expect that space travel will increasingly become a commercial venture."
Article from:
