Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC), a space construction company founded Gateway Foundation members that include former NASA staff, engineers, pilots, and architects, who plan to build a space hotel called ‘Voyager Station.’ The Voyager Station’s design is based on space habitat concepts imagined by one of the most prominent rocket scientist in history - Wernher von Braun. Voyager Station will be a ring-shaped hotel that spins like a Ferris wheel to create artificial gravity. As it rotates, the centrifugal force will simulate a moon-like gravity level. It will be the largest artificial object orbiting our planet, with a 650-foot-wide (200 meters) diameter. The Station will be comprised of 24 habitat modules, each section will be 65 feet long and 40 feet wide (20 by 12 meters). OAC says the Station will have 'escape shuttle planes' docked between each module to escape during emergency situations. As seen in the illustration above, it will also feature a docking port for larger spacecraft like SpaceX's Starship. The company’s President and CEO John Blincow told reporters the Station is set to begin construction until 2026, due to Covid-19 related delays. They aim to have a space-ready hotel orbiting Earth as soon as 2027.
The Voyager Station will be capable of accommodating up to 400 guests. It will feature recreational areas such as, restaurants, movie theaters, bars, gyms, spa, libraries, even concert venues. At near-lunar gravity, the rotating space habitat will also have functional showers and toilets, according to the company. “Despite the seemingly endless list of luxury amenities, there will also be airlocks for visitors,” OAC Chief Space Architect Tom Spilker said. “So anyone who can afford a space hotel can go on a private spacewalk, where the only thing between you and the universe is a faceplate.”
Even though the hotel may not be affordable to most soon just those who can afford a $5-million-dollar trip, Blincow hopes to “make the public realize that this golden age of space travel is just around the corner. It's coming. It's coming fast,” he said. The company expects to decrease the cost over time as space travel becomes cheaper, a three-day-stay at Voyager Station could one day cost the same amount as “a trip on a cruise or a trip to Disneyland,” they said.
All Images Source: Orbital Assembly Corporation
About the Author
Evelyn Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
