What to Know
- Dubbed the “Aurora Station,” the space hotel was announced Friday at the Space 2.0 Summit in San Jose, California.
- The hotel is being launched by Orion Span, an aerospace company based in Houston.
- Trips start at $9.5 million per person, and a deposit to reserve a spot is $80,000 dollars.
If you’re looking for a vacation that’s truly out-of-this-world, you’re in luck: The first luxury hotel to operate in outer space is now accepting reservations.
Dubbed the “Aurora Station,” the hotel was announced Friday at the Space 2.0 Summit in San Jose, California. Six people, including two crew members, will be able to stay at the hotel at a time, according to a news release. During the 12-day “astronaut experience,” travelers can immerse themselves in zero gravity, fly "low orbit" 200 miles above Earth’s surface and participate in various research experiments, such as learning to grow food in space, the release states.
The hotel is being launched by Orion Span, an aerospace company based in Houston. It is scheduled to depart in 2021 from Cape Canaveral in Orlando, with guests able to “check-in” in 2022.
Of course, staying at a hotel hundreds of miles away from Earth’s surface comes at a price. Trips start at $9.5 million per person, and a deposit to reserve a spot is $80,000 dollars.
The $80,000 deposit (which is refundable) gets you on the waitlist. Interested space-travelers can place a deposit starting April 5.
Those planning to embark on the intergalactic journey will also partake in a three-month certification program prior to launch. Part of the program is online, another is completed at the Orion Span training facility in Houston. The final stage of the certification is completed on the Aurora Station itself.
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“Orion Span has [] taken what was historically a 24-month training regimen to prepare travelers to visit a space station and streamlined it to three months, at a fraction of the cost,” Frank Bunger, CEO and founder of Orion Span, said in a statement. “Our goal is to make space accessible to all, by continuing to drive greater value at lower cost.”
Like most hotels on planet Earth, the Aurora Station will have high speed wireless internet access, allowing travelers to communicate with loved ones back home. The hotel will also orbit Earth every 90 minutes, allowing guests to witness 16 sunrises and sunsets every day.
Details about the interior of the hotel are forthcoming, a spokesperson said, as the inside of the structure is still in the design phase.
Aurora Station will also function as more than a hotel, Bunger said. Zero gravity research projects will take place there, as well as space manufacturing initiatives.
“Future Aurora owners can live in, visit, or sublease their space condo,” Bunger said. “This is an exciting frontier and Orion Span is proud to pave the way.”
For more information, and to find out about reservations, click here.
