Hotel in space costs nearly $800,000 per night.

The hotel's exterior in its first space appearance at Aurora Station.

According to Bloomberg, Orion Span, based in Houston, Texas, expects to launch Aurora Station, the first luxury hotel in space, by the end of 2021 and begin welcoming guests in 2022.

Each trip to the hotel will be accompanied by two crew members. Aurora Station will orbit nearly 322 km from Earth, allowing guests to witness 384 sunrises and sunsets over a 12-day period.

Previously, this idea seemed like something out of a novel. Now, in an era where companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic are enthusiastically racing into space, the prospect of a private company launching a hotel orbiting the Earth is no longer far-fetched.

"We want to put humans in space because it's the last frontier of our civilization," said Frank Bunger, founder and CEO of Orion Span. However, this service isn't for everyone.

"We're not selling a vacation in space; we're selling the experience of being an astronaut. We believe there are people willing to pay for this experience," Bunger said. Beyond the physical limitations, the astronaut experience also has significant financial constraints. A 12-day trip starts at $9.5 million per person, equivalent to approximately $791,666 per night.

Aurora Station has an interior space of approximately 10.6 x 4 square meters, equivalent to the interior space of a Gulfstream G550 private jet. The station will accommodate a maximum of 4 passengers and 2 crew members. The company requires an $80,000 deposit, which will be accepted starting April 5th and is fully refundable.

Orion Span is evaluating potential funding sources for the project, but has not disclosed how much it aims to raise. Orion Span's statement reflects the growing popularity of venture capital over the past decade. Since 2015, aerospace startups have attracted $7.9 billion in investment, according to consulting firm Bryce Space & Technology.

Hotel interior design.

Orion Span has not yet signed a contract with a space launch service provider, nor has it signed a contract for the first flights to build a space station to receive passenger flights later. The four-year timeframe the airline has set may simply be a way to assess what type of market is suitable for this service.

Orion Span's chief architect, chief engineer, and chief operations officer are all former NASA employees. Frank Bunger stated that the current hotel design is compatible with most current launch configurations, such as those by Arianespace, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance. The company can also collaborate with government space agencies.

One reason Orion Span is setting a target price below $10 million per person is because launch costs are falling. “Everyone is predicting that launch costs will go down. Almost every week there’s a new rocket company launching a new rocket with a way to get it into orbit cheaper, faster, and better,” Bunger said.