Aurora Station: Startup announces 2021 launch of first-ever luxury hotel in space

A hotel with all luxuries and private suites is going to be launched into space 320 kilometres above the surface of the earth by 2021. From 2022, guests could have an “authentic astronaut” experience of living at a space hotel.

“We’re proud to announce Aurora Station – our first orbital community - will launch in late 2021 as the world's first luxury space hotel. By early 2022, we will be hosting tourists, astronauts, space research, and manufacturing on board Aurora Station in the lower earth orbit,” Frank Bunger, CEO and Founder of Orion Span said.

The hotel named Aurora Station will be provided on first come first serve basis. Orion Span will charge $9.5 million for the ride and 12-day stay at the station which includes the cost of the to-and-fro journey. Advance booking for the ride is open and you need to submit $80,000 to book your berth.

The company said that the deposit will be totally refundable and be kept with a third party until six months before the launch. “For your peace of mind, your deposit stays with our trusted third party escrow service and stays there until 6 months prior to your stay. The deposit cannot be moved without your explicit approval. Your deposit is also fully refundable should you change your mind,” it states.

The company, in future, also plans to sell condos in space. “Like any thriving community, we designed Aurora Station to grow and respond to market needs. When we reach capacity, we simply launch another of the same space station and attach it to Aurora's radial hub,” Bunger added.

“As Aurora Station continues to grow with market demand, we will also sell space condos – your own capacity aboard Aurora Station and future space stations to visit, sublease or one day live in as you wish.”

In recent times, space travel has become a lucrative market with multiple players like Virgin offering space journeys, some of them just one way to celestial bodies. However, in reality, the market is yet to take off as not a single commercial space flight has been made yet.