
Elon Musk's SpaceX could make Jeff Bezos' $28 million space hotel vacation a reality
For centuries, humanity has pursued the unknown—crossing oceans, climbing the highest peaks, and breaking the sound barrier to explore the skies. Today, that pioneering spirit is once again propelling society toward new horizons: outer space. What was once the exclusive domain of national space agencies and a select group of trained astronauts is now evolving into an industry led by private enterprise. Fueled by immense technological advancements and billionaire-driven innovation, space is no longer a final frontier—it is becoming a destination. With efforts to make
commercial space travel
as routine as international flights, a bold new concept is emerging: luxury hotels in orbit. Among these,
Voyager Station
stands out as the world's first planned
space hotel
, set to welcome guests as early as 2027.
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the $28 million space hotel that could redefine travel
Voyager Station is a pioneering project being developed by
Orbital Assembly Corporation
(OAC), a private aerospace startup headquartered in Sacramento, California. The station is envisioned as a rotating space structure capable of accommodating 280 guests and 112 crew members at once. This revolutionary facility aims to deliver all the comfort and extravagance expected of a premium resort—restaurants, bars, a cinema, a fitness center, and even a concert venue—only this time, in low Earth orbit.
OAC's ambition is not just limited to comfort; it extends to redefining the experience of space living. Their primary goal is to make long-duration stays in space feasible for tourists, researchers, and commercial operators by introducing artificial gravity, a major breakthrough in space habitation.
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Design and technology: Artificial gravity and rotational innovation
The most unique feature of Voyager Station is its rotating wheel-shaped design. This concept, dating back to the early 20th century and later refined by Wernher von Braun, uses centrifugal force to generate artificial gravity. OAC plans to create gravity levels comparable to the Moon (1/6th of Earth's gravity) initially, with the flexibility to increase to Mars-like gravity or even full Earth gravity, depending on guest adaptability.
Guests will first arrive at a central zero-gravity docking hub before traveling to the rotating outer modules using specialized elevator systems. These modules—24 in total—will comprise 125,000 square feet of usable space. Apart from hotel suites, they will include luxury villas, retail stores, research laboratories, and even entertainment venues.
The company is also constructing two ground-based prototype modules, the Gravity Ring and Pioneer Station, to test the feasibility of artificial gravity environments before full-scale orbital deployment.
Elon Musk might help you book a ride to the $28 million space hotel
Transporting guests to Voyager Station will be one of the major logistical challenges. Currently, space travel for civilians is expensive. For instance, a seat on a
Blue Origin
suborbital flight alongside Jeff Bezos in 2021 was auctioned for $28 million. However, the cost of space travel is expected to decrease as reusable launch systems become more efficient and widespread.
Launch providers like
SpaceX
are developing powerful and cost-effective vehicles such as the Starship and Super Heavy booster, which could be instrumental in making commercial space travel more accessible. While SpaceX is not officially partnered with OAC for this project, the company acknowledged Voyager Station's ambitious goal with curiosity and even expressed interest on social media in offering transportation services once the station is operational.
OAC aims to make space tourism a luxury choice, not a price barrier
Despite the high initial costs, OAC maintains that the long-term viability of Voyager Station hinges on mass adoption and scalable transport. The company's leadership, including Chief Operating Officer Tim Alatorre, remains optimistic. Alatorre stated in an interview with The New York Times that the goal is to make space tourism a 'matter of preference, not affordability.'
In line with this goal, the station's commercial infrastructure will include luxury residences, industrial space, and research labs, catering to more than just tourists. This mixed-use approach is expected to provide multiple revenue streams—tourism, commercial leasing, and scientific experimentation.
Timelines and current progress
Voyager Station is currently scheduled for launch and operation by 2027, pending successful construction and orbital testing of essential technologies. OAC has already begun foundational work on components such as:
Structural engineering of rotating modules
Artificial gravity simulation
Docking and elevator systems
If timelines are met, OAC's next steps will include orbital assembly, followed by partial module testing in space, and then full-scale operation.
Challenges and unknowns
While Voyager Station holds incredible promise, several challenges remain:
High development and operational costs
Safety protocols in microgravity and artificial gravity environments
Regulatory approvals and space traffic management
Psychological and physiological impacts of long-term space stays
Furthermore, securing consistent launch access from providers like SpaceX or other aerospace players remains critical for the station's supply chain and guest turnover.
The future of space tourism
Voyager Station represents a larger trend in the commercialization of space. Alongside ventures like Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX, Orbital Assembly's hotel concept signifies a shift from government-dominated space exploration to privately-funded space living.
With increasing public interest and investment, the idea of vacationing in space, once considered science fiction, is inching closer to reality. Beyond tourism, such projects also lay the groundwork for interplanetary colonization and long-term space research.
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Time of India
43 minutes ago
- Time of India
Career Horoscope Today (Aaj ka Career Rashifal) for July 13, 2025: Predictions for All Zodiac Signs
Get the stars to power your career development and financial growth daily. Pick up personalised clues to pump up your productivity, play it smarter with finance, and take opportunities as they come. Step up by following spot-on horoscope advice tailored to your working and wealth-building journey. Aries Career Horoscope Today , 13 July 2025 Let results speak louder than promises today. While it's easy to make bold claims, focus on delivering tangible outcomes that showcase your capabilities. At work, let your actions prove your worth. People will notice your ability to get things done effectively. Financially, avoid overselling opportunities. Instead, let your steady progress and successful results speak for themselves. Your work ethic will create the momentum you need to achieve your goals. Taurus Career Horoscope Today, 13 July 2025 Be the energy you want in your workplace today. Your positivity, commitment, and attitude will influence the environment around you. 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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
‘India and China were the world's richest nations — rice grew their wealth'
'India and China were the world's richest nations — rice grew their wealth' Francesca Bray is Professor Emerita of Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh. Speaking to Srijana Mitra Das at Times Evoke , she outlines the history of rice — and its workers: What is the core of your research? Over my career, I've looked at multiple aspects stemming from my original research, which was on the history of agriculture in China. From that came an interest in agrarian networks and social systems linked with these. Gender, with its associated crops, was one such topic — this is when I grew particularly interested in rice. Does rice represent global commodity networks? by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Secure your family's future! ICICI Pru Life Insurance Plan Get Quote Undo Rice is rather special in today's world — wheat and corn are global commodities, bought and sold between countries in greater quantities than usually consumed in their home economies. Rice is an exception — although it has world markets, most rice produced is actually consumed within the societies that grow it. Rice has resisted the large-scale industrial monoculture model and rice fields are still smaller than wheat, soybean or industrial maize. Rice encourages smaller farmers and more diversity of crops and occupations. IT'S AT SO MANY LEVELS: Rice, grown in a variety of ways by small farmers, from flat paddies to layered terraces, evolved its own technological development and sparked entrepreneurship — Did rice cultivation shape pre-colonial societies? 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The historian Roy Bin Wong's book 'China Transformed' suggests the principle of symmetrical comparison — instead of saying 'Europe went this way and China and India didn't, so what did they do wrong?', we should ask what people wanted there and whether they were successful at managing it. The south Chinese rice-centred economy actually grew enormously over the centuries, becoming a global powerhouse. It didn't give rise to an Industrial Revolution like England's and mechanisation wasn't big but many systems for raising capital, making it available at a distance, etc., developed there. The 19 th century onwards, interactions in the Indian Ocean-Pacific world between Western capitalism and what was supposed to not be capitalism in Asia had several financial systems which came from South India, East Asia and Islamic nations. WERE YOU ALWAYS PEARLY? 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What role has gender played in rice? IT'S NOT JUST HIS-STORY: The chronicles of women rice farmers are often wilfully erased Even between China and Japan, which were very close in many respects, the gender coding of rice cultivation was different. China was a particularly intense example of a gender coding where men were supposed to be in the fields growing grain and women in the house, weaving cloth. This view dated back to the early imperial period in China and outlived the eventual switch to monetary payment. The notion that men should be out in the fields and women at home remained fundamental in Chinese political economy and concepts of identity, gender and morality. It seemed to fit with Chinese circumstances since many rice regions in China were textile producers, which did start with women producing the textiles. As the economy commercialised though, more and more men came into the textile industry which began to expand to workshops outside the home. 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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Hyderabad businessman duped of Rs 3.24cr in trading scam: Posed as stock advisors; app showed fake profits, demanded more money
Representative image HYDERABAD: A 44-year-old businessman from Gandhinagar lost 3.24 crore to fraudsters posing as stock trading advisors of a private company. Based on the complaint of the victim, a case was registered by the Telangana State Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) on Friday. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad On May 28, the businessman received a message from an unknown number inviting him to a WhatsApp group run by fraudsters posing as 'Prisha Singh' and 'Purav Jhaveri'. For six weeks, the duo posted market tips, block-trade charts, and invitations to participate in upcoming initial public offerings, claiming privileged access to the institutional quota for high net-worth clients. The victim fell for the tricks and downloaded a trading application shared through a private link. He began wiring money for assured IPO allotments. He transferred 3.24 crore from three personal accounts to 20 beneficiary accounts held in various banks between May 30 and July 9. The fraudsters allowed a single withdrawal of 5 lakh on June 20 to bolster credibility, a TGCSB official said. Till that withdrawal, the victim had only transferred about 75 lakh. After the withdrawal, he transferred 1.49 crore more till July 4, taking the total investment to 2.24 crore. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo "On 8 July, the amount shown in my app was 30 crore, and I attempted to liquidate it. Though the app showed the payout as successful, no amount reached my bank account. When I contacted the customer support number, the fraudsters demanded a 15% clearance fee, even offering a loan to cover the charge," the victim said. Desperate to encash the money he made, the victim transferred 1 crore more in a span of two days. As the fraudsters sought further deposits citing SEBI inspection charges, the victim contacted the national cyberfraud helpline on July 10 and filed a written complaint with TGCSB on July 11. A case was registered under Sections 318(4) 319(2) 338 of BNS and 66D of the IT Act.