First Commercial Space Hotel to Launch in 2013

[Boxy]

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Space/Story?id=7929129&page=1

Imagine yourself, sometime in the next decade, with a fantastic idea for a new business that requires manufacturing in the weightlessness of space. Or maybe, having made your fortune on Earth, you'd simply like to vacation in a very high place.

The Russians charge upward of $50 million for a short trip to the International Space Station. NASA can't help you at all. But there's a Nevada company ready to offer a month's stay in Earth orbit for $15 million -- a bargain, considering that for 40 years, the cost of space travel has stubbornly refused to come down.

Bigelow Aerospace will open up the first so-called "space hotel" as soon as it finishes its Sundancer module (which will make up the nucleus of the first commercial space station). The station design relies heavily on Transhab technology first developed by NASA, but then licensed to Bigelow Aerospace back in 2002. The technology works by shipping the module in compact format, then "inflating" or expanding once in orbit.

The company already has two pressurized craft in orbit -- Genesis I and Genesis II, both of which are a third-scale working model of its proposed "BA 330" building module. As of 2006, the company had socked in $75 million into the project, and had pledged $500 million to carry through the project to completion.

Furthermore, Bigelow himself -- CEO of Budget Inn Suites -- has kicked in $50 million for "America's Space Prize" -- a contest on-par with the X Prize Foundation's exploits to further engineering know-how and gumption.

The company itself isn't exactly targeting soccer moms and little-league coaches, however. The company has identified its main clients as countries who have space programs but no human-ready launch infrastructure (such as Brazil), and companies who want to experiment in zero-gravity conditions (such as chemical manufacturers or -- our favorite -- future space mining companies).

Well, what think you, gentle Earthlings?

[Rhyshaelkan]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15291087/ns/technology_and_science-space

Unbelievable. Everyone is looking for joyrides except SpaceX. Thank you Mr. Musk, for keeping it real.

[joertexas]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15291087/ns/technology_and_science-space

Unbelievable. Everyone is looking for joyrides except SpaceX. Thank you Mr. Musk, for keeping it real.

I'm all for joyrides - they help pay the freight for space colonization. Now, all we have to do is not kill anyone in the process...

JR

[Sam Fraser]

Yes. Best of luck to Bigelow. He's making it happen. Not much of a market unless the price drops below the millions, though.

I do like the Sundancer module. Mated with a Centaur upper stage or two, could it form the core of a manned NEO explorer vehicle?

[Sam Fraser]

Here's another "contender":

http://www.galacticsuite.com/

Looking at the hotel designs, I don't get how these modules are to be powered. Where are the solar panels? I don't know anything about engineering, but the cluster arrangement seems to be hugely impractical. And can the windows really be that big?

Also, the website is a wonderful example of style over substance and everything I don't want a PERMANENT makeover to be e.g.

1. A pointless "Enter site" home page. Why do I have click to enter when I typed the URL correctly? The crowning glory, however, is "Galactic Suite" in one of the most cringe-inducing amateur fonts I have ever seen. Seriously, did the designer's autistic 6-year-old do this?

2. Great, now I have to wait for something to download. Why doesn't it just go straight to some introductory text? OK, I'll wait, it might be worthwh- oh, it's a pointless fullscreen Flash slideshow that crawls like a sick dog. Why is my time being so disrespected? WHY DO YOU HATE ME?

3. Oh, I just realised my speakers were turned up too high. How do I know this? From the BLAST of new-age mood music that has just assaulted my eardrums. It reminds more of getting a nice oil massage than floating in space. And if I want trendy zen music, I'll use iTunes, thanks.

4. Excellent, finally something to read, some hard data..... oh wait, it's just boilerplate marketing hype. Yawn. Why is the text sandwiched in a letterbox slit 100 pixels high when I'm running 1280x1024? How do I scroll? Am I meant to scroll? Or does it auto-scroll, like the slideshow that auto-slides?

Who knows? Who cares? This is where I give up. It's too hard and takes too long to navigate or read or find anything. At least, anything useful. And an "unnamed space enthusiast" has supposedly sunk around US$3 billion into this venture:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_Suite

He should fire his designer into deep space and hire someone like me who understands the average internet user's expectations and behaviour online. And my fee would only be a miniscule 0.1% of the total investment, a true pittance and excellent value, I'm sure you'll agree.

OK, rant over. :cool:

[joertexas]

Here's another "contender":

http://www.galacticsuite.com/

Looking at the hotel designs, I don't get how these modules are to be powered. Where are the solar panels? I don't know anything about engineering, but the cluster arrangement seems to be hugely impractical. And can the windows really be that big?

Also, the website is a wonderful example of style over substance and everything I don't want a PERMANENT makeover to be e.g.

1. A pointless "Enter site" home page. Why do I have click to enter when I typed the URL correctly? The crowning glory, however, is "Galactic Suite" in one of the most cringe-inducing amateur fonts I have ever seen. Seriously, did the designer's autistic 6-year-old do this?

2. Great, now I have to wait for something to download. Why doesn't it just go straight to some introductory text? OK, I'll wait, it might be worthwh- oh, it's a pointless fullscreen Flash slideshow that crawls like a sick dog. Why is my time being so disrespected? WHY DO YOU HATE ME?

3. Oh, I just realised my speakers were turned up too high. How do I know this? From the BLAST of new-age mood music that has just assaulted my eardrums. It reminds more of getting a nice oil massage than floating in space. And if I want trendy zen music, I'll use iTunes, thanks.

4. Excellent, finally something to read, some hard data..... oh wait, it's just boilerplate marketing hype. Yawn. Why is the text sandwiched in a letterbox slit 100 pixels high when I'm running 1280x1024? How do I scroll? Am I meant to scroll? Or does it auto-scroll, like the slideshow that auto-slides?

Who knows? Who cares? This is where I give up. It's too hard and takes too long to navigate or read or find anything. At least, anything useful. And an "unnamed space enthusiast" has supposedly sunk around US$3 billion into this venture:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_Suite

He should fire his designer into deep space and hire someone like me who understands the average internet user's expectations and behaviour online. And my fee would only be a miniscule 0.1% of the total investment, a true pittance and excellent value, I'm sure you'll agree.

OK, rant over. :cool:

I don't know about the rest of it, but the pictures go to prove our point about capturing the best images we can get from the target asteroids. It occurs to me that, since the carrier will mount cameras, it can do double duty and capture pics as it goes round and round in LEO.

JR

[Sabion]

Here's a good look at how Bigelow himself feels about commercial space ventures.

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=1354

Hope he can get his hotel into orbit by 2013, it'll give us a good place to test orbital manufacturing processes and practice microgravity ballet.

[Sam Fraser]

That's a good link, Sabion. Bigelow is a personal hero of mine, and I'm sure I'm not the only one here who feels this way!

I see Galactic Suites is in the news again:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091102/od_nm/us_hotel

Unlike Bigelow, Musk, Branson and others with a track record and sufficient starting capital or cashflows from other sources to see their space projects through until profitability is reached, I just don't see this taking off, so to speak.

[joertexas]

That's a good link, Sabion. Bigelow is a personal hero of mine, and I'm sure I'm not the only one here who feels this way!

I see Galactic Suites is in the news again:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091102/od_nm/us_hotel

Unlike Bigelow, Musk, Branson and others with a track record and sufficient starting capital or cashflows from other sources to see their space projects through until profitability is reached, I just don't see this taking off, so to speak.

Notice that they have an investor with $3 billion in this project?

JR

[Sam Fraser]

That's what they claim. :cool:

[Rhyshaelkan]

I can claim to be the emperor of mankind. But it would be untrue, for now. :D

[joertexas]

That's what they claim. :cool:

True :)

JR