Bizarre, Science

Booked on Orbitz? Russians Announce Plans for Space Hotel

If you are really trying to get away from it all, Russia appears to have the answer. The Russians are planning a space hotel to orbit 200 miles above Earth by 2016. The four-room Hotel in the Heavens can handle up to seven guests. Of course, Russian hotels are already known for a rather stripped down sense of accommodation. Yet, tourists might be a bit uneasy after the recent explosion of the Russian supply ship to the space station.

Sergei Kostenko, chief executive of Orbital Technologies, insists “a hotel should be comfortable, and this one will be.” The trip will cost £500,000 to travel on a Soyuz rocket to get to the hotel plus £100,000 for a five-day stay. Room service is limited and there is no late checkout.

Before booking, you might want to check Orbitz for the cheapest rate.

Source: Guardian

15 thoughts on “Booked on Orbitz? Russians Announce Plans for Space Hotel”

  1. Did someone say “quality control” and “Russians”?

    “A special commission investigating the causes of the August 24 failed launch of Russia’s Soyuz carrier rocket has recommended enhancing the control of the production of engines for Soyuz rockets, Russian space agency Roscosmos said.

    A Soyuz rocket engine failure resulted in the loss of the Progress M-12M space freighter on August 24, the first loss of a Progress freighter in the history of Russia’s space industry. The freighter failed to separate from the rocket and fell in South Siberia’s Altai Republic.

    A clogged fuel supply pipe caused the engine failure, the commission discovered, describing the defect as “accidental,” Roscosmos said. However, the space agency said, the commission still recommended introducing additional control procedures to ensure that other similar engines do not have same defects.”

    http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110909/166558139.html

    So when your hotel room depressurizes, at least you’ll have the cold, oxygen-less comfort of knowing it was an accidental manufacturing defect.

  3. I think you guys are missing the big picture.

    It’s a hotel, in space. You, along with the person of your choosing, can make the beast with two backs, IN SPACE.

    On the list of “things to do if I become Richer than the Sultan of Brunei” that’s numbers 1-7.

  4. who would’ve thought sitting on top of a football field length cylinder of explosives might be dangerous.

    but whata rush

  5. pete,

    I hope the vibrating bed is free to use.

    Everyone knows carrying change in to orbit presents a whole list of additional hazards all its own.

    For anyone interested in a breakdown of the comparative fatalities and injuries of the U.S./Soviet-Russian space programs, actually Wikipedia has a pretty good entry for the topic as long as one keeps in mind these are the publicly acknowledged events only.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spaceflight-related_accidents_and_incidents

  6. the russian soyuz has a better safety record than the space shuttle

    the only problem is the vibrating bed in the honeymoon suite shakes the entire orbiter.

  8. Russian space tech? It’s a mixed bag. When they find something that works, they tend to stick with it. The problem comes from quality control. I think I’ll pass too.

  9. Um, Russian technology, you say? I think I’ll pass. -culheath

    That too…, but there are priorities… 🙂

  11. The cutback in NASA funding is one of the most short sighted decisions in recent years. Space represents not only a boon towards scientific discovery, but also a future source of economic stimulus. That Russia, the EU and even private companies will surpass us there is another step down the road of US irrelevance.

  12. “Room service is limited and there is no late checkout.” -Jonathan Turley

    I’ll pass.

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