Space to become tourist destination in the future

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In the future traveling into space will become a holiday option.

Orbital Technologies, a Russian space exploration firm, is now planning to complete a space hotel in 2016. According to the company CEO the space hotel, or commercial space station, will orbit 350 kilometers above the earth. Designed to accommodate seven passengers, the space station will be like a capsule hotel. In order to reach the space hotel passengers will make a two-day trip aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. During their journey an experienced professional team will accompany them and provide instructions. The company also plans to install windows, cameras and telescopes in the space station so customers can enjoy wonderful views of the universe.

The current projected cost to transfer a person from earth to the space station is 800,000 dollars, and the total cost of spending 5 days in the hotel will be a further 160,000 dollars. It certainly makes for a luxury trip.

At the same time, another US company called Virgin Galactic is planning to launch its ‘SpaceShip Two’ program which can make a sub-orbital journey with a short period of weightlessness. This program will cost 200,000 dollars and more than 500 people have registered, including the renowned physicist Stephen Hawking .

For the time being space travel will remain a privilege available to very few people. Immature technology and the high cost will ensure that only the wealthiest can afford the price. Space travel is still far from becoming a mass-market business. But the CEO of Orbital Technologies believes that with the development of new technologies and spacecraft there is great potential to be unleashed in aerospace, and space hotels will grow in popularity in the future.

Space trips are simply the tip of the iceberg in the space economy. It is forecast that after 2030 there will be numerous space stations performing different functions such as moon settlements, extraterrestrial gas stations, and near-earth orbit viewing platforms. With the help of new technologies, living areas will be built in space which will further promote the development of the space economy.

Edited and Translated by Yao Chun, People's Daily Online

Read the Chinese version: 人民日报经济透视：太空，未来旅游新市场, source: People's Daily

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