Space tourism has long been touted by its advocates as an important step in the development of privately-funded space travel, and now it looks like the theory is going to be put to the test.

To date, seven men have travelled to space in such a capacity — all of them aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft, spending a cumulative 96 days in space. (The most recent space tourist, Guy Laliberté, a Canadian circus tycoon, spent 11 days in space, returning to Earth on October 11 of this year.)

But now a new company, Galactic Suite Ltd., intends to radically alter the state of space tourism by taking the next step in its development by providing a destination built for such travelers: The first space hotel. And while Americans have become used to space programs which are described in terms of decades, for Galactic Suite, it would appear that the future is now: The goal is an operational space hotel by 2012.

According to a Reuters report (“Space hotel says it’s on schedule to open in 2012”):

A company behind plans to open the first hotel in space says it is on target to accept its first paying guests in 2012 despite critics questioning the investment and time frame for the multi-billion dollar project.

The Barcelona-based architects of The Galactic Suite Space Resort say it will cost 3 million euro ($4.4 million) for a three-night stay at the hotel, with this price including an eight-week training course on a tropical island.

Now, if that price induces a bit of ‘sticker shock,’ consider the fact that Guy Laliberté’s recent trip (which was arranged by Space Adventures, Inc.) is estimated to have cost $47.2 million. Estimates over the years have shown that a space tourism market in the $20 million range existed. But now, if brought to pass, Galactic Suite promises to dramatically reduce that figure.

Where is the market for a $4.4 million vacation? Although there are 840,000 households in the U.S. with a net worth of over $5 million, how many people would be willing to sink this much money into a three-night stay in orbit? According to the Reuters story:

More than 200 people have expressed an interest in traveling to the space hotel and at least 43 people have already reserved.

The numbers are similar for Virgin Galactic with 300 people already paid or signed up for the trip but unlike Branson, Galactic Suite say they will use Russian rockets to transport their guests into space from a spaceport to be built on an island in the Caribbean.

As an aside, it is worth noting that Virgin Galactic flights will launch from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. The cost for a ticket is $200,000 for a 2.5 hour flight. Although a firm date has not yet been announced for these flights to begin, sometime in 2011or 2012 seems likely.

By the standards of Earth-based hotels, the accommodations promised by Galactic Suite are limited: The hotel will begin with a single pod in orbit 280 miles above Earth, providing space for two astronauts and four guests and without any hotel staff to serve the guests. But the trip isn’t about gourmet cooking and plush accommodations: It’s about three things: location, location, location.

Obviously, a jaunt off to a space hotel is not going to be anything like a trip to the Grand Canyon or Hawaii any time soon. But it is equally clear that the age of space tourism seems to have finally arrived.

Rt. Rev. James Heiser has served as Pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Malone, Texas, while maintaining his responsibilities as publisher of Repristination Press, which he established in 1993 to publish academic and popular theological books to serve the Lutheran Church.  Heiser has also served since 2005 as the Dean of Missions for The Augustana Ministerium and in 2006 was called to serve as Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America (ELDoNA). An advocate of manned space exploration, Heiser serves on the Steering Committee of the Mars Society. His publications include two books; The Office of the Ministry in N. Hunnius' Epitome Credendorum (1996) and A Shining City on a Higher Hill: Christianity and the Next New World (2006), as well as dozens of journal articles and book reviews.

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RP said:

... So, let me get this straight. It is okay to burn a few tons of kerosene and oxygen, producing who knows how much CO2 so some rich nincompoop can spend a couple days in space, but you can't have a black car in California because of the extra gas required to keep it cool? Where is the outrage? The silence from the left is deafening. Could it be that perhaps global warming is a hoax and it really IS about control after all?

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