'Space hotel' plan unveiled in Russia

[Still Waters]

A Russian company has unveiled an ambitious plan to launch a "cosmic hotel" for wealthy space tourists.

Orbital Technologies says its "comfortable" four-room guest house could be in orbit by 2016, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reports.

Guests would be ferried to the hotel on a Soyuz shuttle of the type used to transport cosmonauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

The Moscow-based firm did not reveal how the hotel would be built or funded.

Up until now space tourists, such as American businessman Dennis Tito, have squeezed into the cramped ISS, alongside astronauts and their experiments.

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[booNyzarC]

This sure would beat a weekend at the beach! But the price would have to be ridiculous... How many insanely wealthy people are there? Enough to make this a profitable enterprise?

[danielost]

This sure would beat a weekend at the beach! But the price would have to be ridiculous... How many insanely wealthy people are there? Enough to make this a profitable enterprise?

probable not, but it would lay the bases for a larger and better hotel, which would put even more people in space thus lowering the price.

[booNyzarC]

probable not, but it would lay the bases for a larger and better hotel, which would put even more people in space thus lowering the price.

Good point danielost, I suppose that may be the long term goal.

At the very least, they have at least 1011 possible takers up front, if this article has the facts right...

What's Your Billionaire Age?

(I was surprised that there are that many billionaires... I honestly thought the number would be smaller. )

[logikvipr]

Regardless of the exciting possibilities such an idea or actual project awaiting construction is the utterly disturbing & irritatingly bothersome fact that the Russian space agency, our largest partner (we being: NASA, and to a lesser extent: the ESA, JAXA, & CSA) invested long-term both financially & operationally in the International Space Station's usable lifetime, seems to be completely unconcerned with those committed responsibilities they made & agreed upon fulfilling in good faith with the other partner space agencies.

To divert or redirect any time or resources to any other venture during the lifetime of the ISS is nauseating - and the Russians wonder why they continue to be perceived as arrogantly belligerent & carelessly self-interested by the rest of the global population. They have a penchant for choosing the wrong battles to fight.

At a time when no other nation has the ability to send humans into LEO & funds allocated for station operability scheduled to expire in less than 5 years their responsibility lies entirely with focusing all their resources in exediting access to LEO & the ISS/ISS operational costs. Only their Soyuz craft can dock with the station. Partner agencies haven't the ability nor have any foreseeable ability to do so. Despicably, neither will NASA upon retiring of the shuttle program in early 2011 - a status to remain unchanged indefinitely - as NASA has been gutted & left bereft of dignity by Obama who views the agency simply as a joke; its past accomplishments laughable in his narrow-minded, un-foresightful perspective. Part of the decision to scratch the new vehicle systems (already billions of tax-payer dollars invested & ready for pre-trials) was to fund the station until 2020 at the expense of next-generation lauch/vehicle development. Never mind the fact that the good-will of the American space agency footed the cost of shuttle flights for station construction, a large number of station modules, risk to its astronauts, command-and-control, & continuing operational expenditures. Those duties were humbly taken upon the shoulders of NASA & the American public with honest integrity, for the benefit & advancement for all mankind. No gesture or offer of financial support whatsoever was issued from the Russian Space Agency. Only their typical silence, too self-indulged to even bother with protecting their resources already invested in the project.

These less-than-honorable actions & disregard by the Russian Space Agency should be causing an uproar in every one of its partner-agencies - each overwhelmingly focusing a majority of their resources on ISS. It's only equitable that the Russians do the same.