Free Astronomy Magazine May-June 2018

MAY-JUNE 2018 ing travelers into space quicker and at a lower price than ever seen before, while still providing an unforgettable experi- ence” . And here’s what he added about the future development in orbit of the luxury hotel: “Aurora Station is incredibly versatile and has multiple uses beyond serving as a hotel. We will offer full charters to space agencies who are looking to achieve hu- man spaceflight in orbit for a fraction of the cost – and only pay for what they use. We will support zero-gravity research, as well as in-space manufacturing. Our archi- tecture is such that we can easily add capac- ity, enabling us to grow with market de- mand like a city growing skyward on Earth. We will later sell dedicated modules as the world’s first condominiums in space. Future Aurora owners can live in, visit, or sublease their space condo. This is an exciting fron- tier, and Orion Span is proud to pave the way” . Bunger’s optimism is enviable, but some aspects of the initiative remain nebu- lous. For example, Orion Span did not pro- vide information on the choice of the carrier that will be used to send Aurora Sta- tion into orbit, and this is not a negligible detail, because such a bulky payload re- quires a tailor-made hold, and both must be developed hand-in-hand. The capacities of the holds currently available on the car- rier market are not sufficient to accommo- date the main body of Aurora Station. For our next holidays, let’s book a standard hotel, then, in 2022, we will decide whether to update our wish list ... ! I n this scene, a spacecraft ap- proaches Aurora Station with new tourists on board, replacing those who have com- pleted their space holidays. [Orion Span]