The next big thing in space tourism is preparing to take a decisive step. Orbital Assembly Corporation plans to open the first hotel in space and aims to open in 2027, but without revealing all the commercial access details to the public.
Orbital Assembly Corporation presented the Voyager Station project, a complex in Earth orbit with artificial gravity and capacity for 280 guests and 112 crew simultaneously. The objective is to bring the space travel experience closer to a model similar to current international travel, with scheduled stays and dedicated services.
The station intends to gradually democratize access, but will start with a limited offer. The company indicates that the operation will be designed to provide comfort and recognizable routines, reducing the strangeness of microgravity for first-time visitors.
How to create gravity in an orbital hotel
The design takes up the concept of the rotating ring, attributed to Wernher von Braun, to generate gravity through rotation. The Voyager Station should rotate at around 1.5 revolutions per minute, initially simulating lunar gravity, with the possibility of adjustment to levels close to those of Mars or Earth.
The launch is scheduled from the Kennedy Space Center. After docking in the central core in weightlessness, visitors take pressurized elevators to the external modules, where the rotation produces a more familiar feeling of weight.
What will be inside the ring?
The infrastructure will form a ring with 24 modules and around 11 thousand square meters of useful area. A restaurant and bar are planned, a gym designed for exercises in low gravity, a cinema and observation rooms with wide views of the planet, says the website dedicated to space.
There will also be a room prepared for concerts in weightlessness. Circulation between areas will be carried out via pressurized shafts, ensuring safety and continuity of pressure and the interior atmosphere.
Costs, accessibility and market in construction
Today, traveling to space remains within the reach of few, as demonstrated by suborbital flights that cost tens of millions of dollars per seat. The Orbital Assembly Corporation claims to want to bring prices closer to a luxury cruise trip, highlighting that the largest share of the cost is in transportation to orbit.
The company argues that the reduction in launch prices, driven by new vehicles and a greater mission cadence, could make staying in orbit more affordable over the next decade. At the same time, onboard properties are being offered, such as villas, commercial units and industrial spaces, replicating land-based development models.
Competition and differentiation in the sector
Other agents are moving forward with commercial platforms, such as Axiom Space in partnership with the International Space Station, and the Orbital Reef project, by Blue Origin with Sierra Space. Voyager Station stands out for being designed with a primary focus on tourism, with entertainment, leisure and hospitality at the heart of the plan.
This differentiation explains the emphasis on services and comfort on board. In this context, the hotel opening in the space aims to position itself as a destination, and not just as a research or logistics infrastructure.
Tests before debut
Before opening, Orbital Assembly Corporation plans to validate the technology with smaller stations, called Gravity Ring and Pioneer, with tests planned to help fine-tune systems. These platforms will be essential for adjusting rotation, pressurized elevators and daily service operation.
The calendar points to these prototypes as a critical step for safety and reliability. Only after this evaluation will Voyager Station advance to the guest operation phase.
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