14 DAY TRIAL // Bigelow Aerospace is currently engaged in plans to construct the first-ever space hotel, which officials at the company say will be ready within a few years. The design is based on inflatable space modules, a technology that has already been demonstrated back in 2006.
It is the belief of this company that the future of orbital tourism lies with high-tech, low-cost inflatable space stations, that can be deployed in tight packages, and then inflated once they reach their position.
Two modules have already been launched in this manner, in 2006 and 2007, as Bigelow was attempting to prove that its technology is feasible. Now that this step has been completed, the company is moving forward with creating the first space hotel, featuring a number of these modules.
The company has been founded by real estate developer Robert Bigelow, who got his massive wealth by operating hotels here on Earth. Now, he plans to move his business to low-Earth orbit (LEO), for customers who can afford a hefty price tag.
Bigelow estimates that people will need to pay about $28.75 million for a 30-day stay in his space hotel. The price, though steep, is considerably smaller than the one Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte paid for a 12-day stay on the International Space Station (ISS), back in 2009.
He launched to orbit aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, paying the Russian Federal Space Agency (RosCosmos) $35 million. Now, Bigelow believes his company can outmatch both the price and the duration of the stay by using the inflatable module design.
“We have a way of building stations that are far less expensive, far more safe and can be built more quickly. And the timing is right,” says the developer, who invested some $210 million of his own money into the project. He is willing to invest up to $500 million in the long run.
Bigelow adds that the new modules are currently being considered by NASA, for use as potential expansions to the ISS. Employing them on the space lab would nearly double the space astronauts have available for their use, Universe Today reports.
Current plans call for the first space hotel to be opened by 2016, a mere 5 years from now. One night in the magnificent accommodations will set visitors back by about $1 million, but the view will be priceless.