Startup Company Plans To Launch 'Luxury Space Hotel' In 2021

CBS Local -- A startup in Texas is setting its sights set on providing hotel guests with an out of this world view. The company announced that they plan to launch a "luxury space hotel" within the next four years.

Orion Span revealed their plan at the Space 2.0 Summit in California on April 5. "We are launching the first-ever affordable luxury space hotel," founder and CEO Frank Bunger said while unveiling the company's design for the Aurora Space Station.

Although Bunger calls a 12-day stay in the orbiting hotel "affordable," the company has put a hefty price tag on the trip. Orion Span says tourist packages start at $9.5 million, which is just under $792,000 a night to leisurely orbit the Earth.

In comparison to other space trips made by private citizens, Orion Span's space hotel is actually much cheaper than previous journeys to space. Seven non-astronauts have flown up to the International Space Station (ISS) since 2001. The trips reportedly costed between $20 million and $40 million each time.

"The goal when we started the company was to create that innovation to make simplicity possible, and by making simplicity possible, we drive a tremendous amount of cost out of it," Bunger told Space.com. The Orion Span founder added that the company's long term goal is to actually sell space on their orbiting modules to people who want a "space condo."

The Houston-based company has a target date of late 2021 for the launch of Aurora Station, with guests arriving sometime in 2022. Right now, Orion is accepting $80,000 deposits for people looking to take their next vacation in space.