Out Of This World: Fancy Checking Into The First Space Hotel in 2027?
Going to space has always been an intriguing prospect for people (can’t stand the idea myself). From Wallace and Gromit’s search for Wensleydale and the Clangers whistling on the moon to the heartbreaking 90s bromance between Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck in Armageddon, there have been adventures aplenty on screen. But now is the chance for you to experience it yourself… at a mere $5 million for a three and a half days.
The Orbital Assembly Corporation, a new construction company run by former pilot John Blincow, is planning to open a luxury space hotel by 2027. Voyager Station, as it will be known, is planning to accommodate 280 guests and 112 crew members to become the first ever commercial space hotel.
The hotel will be designed so that the gravity is similar to earth. Apparently, the space station will spin like a wheel and use centrifugal force — the outward force on a mass when rotated — to simulate moon-like levels of gravity.
You could just pop a green screen up at The Berkeley and have a better time for far less money.
In that way, people will be able to experience the stylish rooms and fancy bars without floating off with their martini. But it also kind of defeats the point of going all the way up there, surely? Other than the views of course. However, you could just pop a green screen up at The Berkeley and have a better time for far less money.
The team behind it does hope to keep some of the traditional aspects of a space experience, such as space food like freeze dried ice cream. They’re also planning recreational activities such as basketball games, where you can jump higher due to the change in environment. It seems a long way to go just for a slam dunk meme.
Apparently, tickets will end up costing the same amount as a trip to Disneyland.
The price of booking has been estimated by Travel + Leisure as $5 million, although the team behind the station suggest that the price will come down to a more affordable rate that will be the same amount as “a trip on a cruise or a trip to Disneyland”. We’re not convinced.
In fact, we’re not holding our breath for any of these plans. Other announcements have previously been bandied about for hotel space stations. We wrote about this very theme three years ago, when the Aurora Space Station was announced by Orion Span. However, it was meant to be completed this year, and there hasn’t been a peep about it since our article. There are also Virgin Galactic’s plans to launch passengers into space at $250,000 per person, per trip, and Axiom Space is meant to be opening a commercial space station, AxStation, by 2024.
So in the meantime, your closest experience to landing on the moon is following in the footsteps of Wallace and Gromit and popping down to Waitrose for a slice of their finest Wensleydale.
Fancy making a reservation? You can do that here: www.voyagerstation.com