Orion Span says it’ll put space hotel in orbit by 2022, but some details are up in the air, Geekwire
“A startup called Orion Span says it’s planning to open a luxury hotel in orbit in 2022, but a lot of the details have yet to be filled in. … It’ll accommodate up to six residents at a time, including two professional crew members. The flight plan calls for the module to be launched into a 200-mile-high orbit in late 2021, and host its first guests in 2022.”
First-Ever Luxury Space Hotel, Aurora Station, to Offer Authentic Astronaut Experiences, Orion Span
“Prior to take-off, those set to travel on Aurora Station will enjoy a three-month Orion Span Astronaut Certification (OSAC). Phase one of the certification program is done online, making space travel easier than ever. The next portion will be completed in-person at Orion Span’s state-of-the-art training facility in Houston, Texas.”
Keith’s note: Here we go again. What training facility? Where is it? What is the address? Orion Span claims that they will go from zero to an operational orbital space station in 4 years with no track record whatsoever. This is going to cost many hundreds of millions of dollars and would be a challenge for an experienced company to accomplish.

Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member 🖖🏻

27 replies on “Orion Span's Orbital Luxury Hotel: Just Send Us Your Money”

  1. Conrad Hilton always swore he’d be first. Perhaps one of his heirs will take up the mantle.

    1. If his heirs do, they should Go Big and do it with Style! Make something resembling the rotating Space Station from 2001ASO (which, btw, had Dr. Floyd sitting in a Hilton lobby)

      1. And have a nice big screen PicturePhone next to big window (that better be good structural integrity) when asking your daughter what she wants for her birthday.

        Getting back to this plan, main obstacles are getting enough resources (money, material, skill) to build this, have a viable business plan, and overcome reputation of scams and vaporware.

  3. When I travel, I generally don’t pay extra for travel insurance. In this case, I’d strongly recommend it to anyone making a reservation.

  5. Lets see some details, and money, and then we’ll know. They’ll need more than deposits. They’ll need investors. Investors need a business plan.

    1. This PR blitz is the first step toward tricking those investors into handing over some cash.

  6. Only slightly more plausible than ‘Mars One’ – but far more do-able, in a nutshell. Bigelow Aerospace habitats show a lot of promise. I wish somebody would REALLY get that ball rolling…

      1. True that! Still, regarding the final destination… especially when compared to these newbees, Bigelow knows more about orbital space habitat systems AND the hotel industry (remember: the dude founded Budget Suites!)

  7. Best wishes to the new space hotel and service company, more space jobs for all and more tax payment to federal and the states.

  8. Training facility? Training facility? Can’t they hire the “vomit comet” for zero-g training, and, perhaps one of the rollercoasters for…oh, never mind! If not them, then others will no doubt actually do something.

  11. Orion Span founder and CEO Frank Bunger told
    GeekWire that the venture is currently self-funded, with added support
    from two angel investors whom he declined to name. An investment round
    is planned in the next two or three months, he said.

    No surprise there. I don’t take these things seriously unless they’re fully funded through their first launch/mission. It does not sound like they have that yet, and the history of space startups is full of vaporware and companies big on promises and low on funding.

    I suppose at least your deposit is refundable, although good luck getting that back if and probably when the company folds.

    1. Guy’s experience looks mighty thin. On the other hand, so did that of Mr. Musk when he started.

      Is there a market for hotel rooms at that rate? Probably. But much riskier than developing a new rocket.

      1. except Musk had built two start ups and then sold zip and paypal and already started solar city and tesla ..

        1. Musk was funding the development costs for SpaceX in full as well, too. That’s different from the “fake it ’til you make it” approach of trying to use the PR from your startup’s promises to raise the funding you need to actually do it.

    2. Their domain name only has like 4 months left .. hope they get their funding before they lose their web address… smiles

  12. Maybe it could function as a successor to the ISS ?

    just a minute … is that a follow-on role for the ISS … a hotel ? dump the nasty “science” stuff, some nice interior paneling … ?

  13. Nice splashy piture and a mention on NBC Nightly News last night, without comment, reporting the 2021 date, and the price.

    Not sure if this is good, or bad. Good, I suppose. Nobody will remember it, after all, when it fizzles, but a space-mention on national news is a good thing.

    But gee whiz. I guess if you know nothing about space, and you saw FH, you might think that things are moving again. On the other hand, do no reporters recall how difficult it was to loft ISS?

  14. I guess they could buy something from bigelow and have spacex launch and take people back and forth. But it seems unlikely !

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