By: LEILA ROCHA
Living in space may seem like nothing but a movie to some, but this may soon be a reality. The Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC) is working to have a space hotel, Voyager Station, opened in 2027. John Blincow, who runs the OAC, said in an interview with CNN, “We’re trying to make the public realize that this golden age of space travel is just around the corner. It’s coming. It’s coming fast.”
In 2019 the space hotel was planned to be called the Von Braun Space Station. The name came after an aerospace engineer named Wernher von Braun. However, Von Braun was involved in a project for the Nazi rocket development program. The space hotel is now called Voyager Station. “The station is not really about him. It’s based on his design, and we like his contributions towards science and space,” Blincow explained. “And we want a name that doesn’t have those attachments to it.”
OAC’s senior design architect, Tim Alaltorre, who also was interviewed by CNN and explained the Voyager Station design in comparison to the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, design. “While it made for a clearly futuristic feeling in the movie, in reality, it wasn’t a very inviting space. As humans, we innately connect to natural materials and colours.” The design of the space hotel is supposed to be like a nice hotel like you’d see on Earth.
As far as activities go in the hotel, there are supposed to be gyms, bars, dining, etc. There will also be activities that are unlike earth’s activities. According to Alatorre, “Because of the weightlessness and the reduced gravity, you’ll be able to jump higher, be able to lift things, be able to run in ways that you can’t on Earth.” There are also plans of having traditional space food to eat.
Judging from the fact that it will be a space hotel, you may be expecting to pay a hefty price for your stay. Alatorre explained in an interview with Dezeen, “Because the overall costs are still so high most people assume that space tourism will only be available to the super-rich, and while I think this will be true for the next several years, the Gateway Foundation has a goal of making space travel open to everyone.”
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