Orion Span, a space technology start-up, recently announced their ideas for the Aurora Station. If plans are carried out, this will be the world’s first ever luxury space hotel. Things like space travel and life in space used to be purely be the fantasy found in sci-fi movies, but now, thanks to companies like Orion Span, it could become reality.      

According to CNN, Frank Bunger’s (the CEO and founder of Orion Span) main goal for the station is to make space a more accessible and affordable experience for all. This is definitely an ambitious proposal, and there is much skepticism as to whether the company will be successful or not. In fact, according to Space News, the Orion Span team decided to do all of the construction in a factory in Houston, but they don’t have access to the right facility as of right now. Another question to ask relates to how this start-up will find funding for its endeavor. According to Space News, the team has already run a couple of fundraisers and plans to form a partnership with other companies in the future. Some possible candidates include SpaceX, Blue Origin or a space agency. With all of this in mind, Orion Span remains confident that it will launch the station into orbit by 2021, and it will be ready to welcome tourists by 2022. That is only four years from now.

Although there is a little uncertainty about parts of the hotel, there are also details that have been verified and shared with the public. One such detail is the actual dimensions of the hotel. According to The Washington Post, the station will be 35 feet by 14 feet. The station includes two-person suites and will accommodate six people at a time. According to National Geographic, of the six people, only four will be visitors; the other two will be crew members and they will help to make sure that everything runs smoothly and safely.       

So, what exactly do the lucky travelers get to do once they have made it up into space? According to CNN, some activities include experiments like growing food while in orbit, gliding over their hometown, and, because of the station’s high-speed wireless Internet access, participating in video chats with people back on Earth. All of this will be completed while experiencing the excitement of a zero gravity area. Also, since the hotel circles the Earth every 90 minutes, tourists will get to witness approximately 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours.

For the privileged few who have the chance to travel to space it will certainly be a once in a lifetime adventure. Unfortunately, at least at the beginning, it will only be those few. According to National Geographic, it costs $9.5 million for a single ticket to guarantee a 12-day stay. Then, once a flight has been scheduled, travelers must go through the Orion Span Astronaut Certification (OSAC) program. According to CNN, this program takes three months and teaches people about the basics of spaceflight to prepare them for their journey.

As technology continues to improve, many new opportunities and possibilities start to open up. Vacations in space could be one of these opportunities, and according to Space.com, Orion Span is “proud to pave the way.”