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Fly Me to the Moon:
Space Hotel Sees
2012 Opening

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By REUTERS
Published: August
10, 2007

BARCELONA (Reuters)
- "Galactic Suite,"
the first hotel
planned in space,
expects to open for
business in 2012 and
would allow guests
to travel around the
world in 80 minutes.

Its Barcelona-based
architects say the
space hotel will be
the most expensive
in the galaxy,
costing $4 million
for a three-day
stay.

During that time
guests would see the
sun rise 15 times a
day and use Velcro
suits to crawl
around their pod
rooms by sticking
themselves to the
walls like
Spiderman.

Company director
Xavier Claramunt
says the
three-bedroom
boutique hotel's
joined up pod
structure, which
makes it look like a
model of molecules,
was dictated by the
fact that each pod
room had to fit
inside a rocket to
be taken into space.

"It's the bathrooms
in zero gravity that
are the biggest
challenge," says
Claramunt. "How to
accommodate the more
intimate activities
of the guests is not
easy."

But they may have
solved the issue of
how to take a shower
in weightlessness --
the guests will
enter a spa room in
which bubbles of
water will float
around.

When guests are not
admiring the view
from their portholes
they will take part
in scientific
experiments on space
travel.

Galactic Suite began
as a hobby for
former aerospace
engineer Claramunt,
until a space
enthusiast decided
to make the science
fiction fantasy a
reality by fronting
most of the $3
billion needed to
build the hotel.

An American company
intent on colonizing
Mars, which sees
Galaxy Suite as a
first step, has
since come on board,
and private
investors from
Japan, the United
States and the
United Arab Emirates
are in talks.

PLENTY RICH ENOUGH

If Claramunt is
secretive about the
identity of his
generous backer, he
is more forthcoming
about the custom he
can expect.

"We have calculated
that there are
40,000 people in the
world who could
afford to stay at
the hotel. Whether
they will want to
spend money on going
into space, we just
don't know."

Four million dollars
might be a lot to
spend on a holiday,
but those in the
nascent space
tourism industry say
hoteliers have been
slow on the uptake
because no one
thought the cost of
space travel would
come down as quickly
as it has.

Galactic Suite said
the price included
not only three
nights in space.
Guests also get
eight weeks of
intensive training
at a James
Bond-style space
camp on a tropical
island.

"There is fear
associated with
going into space,"
said Claramunt.
"That's why the
shuttle rocket will
remain fixed to the
space hotel for the
duration of the
guests' stay, so
they know they can
get home again."

In an era of concern
over climate change,
Galaxy Suite have no
plans so far to
offset the pollution
implications of
sending a rocket to
carry just six
guests at a time
into space.

"But," says
Claramunt, "I'm
hopeful that the
impact of seeing the
earth from a
distance will
stimulate the
guests' urge to
value and protect
our planet."