Texas-based Orion Span is planning to build the first purpose-built luxury space hotel. The Aurora Station is due to be launched in 2021, and hopes to accommodate paying guests by 2022.
The station will be 13.3m long and 4.3m wide, and will be able to hold four passengers and two crew for 12 days.
It will be located in low Earth orbit, at an altitude of about 320km. It will circle the Earth every 90 minutes, so guests will be able to view multiple sunrises and sunsets each day.Â
Staying at the Aurora Station for 12 days will cost $9.5m; making a reservation costs $80,000, refundable if guests change their mind. This price is described as "affordable" by Orion Span, on the grounds that guests at the International Space Station pay up to $40m per visit.
The founder, Frank Bunger, who is described by his own company as "a serial entrepreneur and technology start-up executive", told Bloomberg: "We want to get people into space because it’s the final frontier for our civilization."
Orion Span adds that space travel could be beneficial to "in situ manufacturing and 3D printing research".
At present, the venture is "assessing potential funding sources", according to Bloomberg. It declined to put a figure on how much it was hoping to raise.Â
Images courtesy of Orion Span
