posted by: Dunia Andromeda
Tiring of the annual two-week break in a Med hot spot? Fed up
with overcrowded resorts with no room to move?
Then how about a real get-away-from-it-all holiday with plenty
of space – in space?
Russia yesterday
announced plans for a hotel in orbit 217 miles up which would house
seven guests in four cabins and have huge windows for views of the Earth
turning below.
Futuristic: Orbital
Technologies has revealed plans for a space hotel, which could be open
by 2016
Just getting there will be an adventure in itself – it will take
two days aboard a Soyuz rocket – and it won’t exactly be a budget
holiday: A five-day stay will cost you £100,000, on top of £500,000 for
your journey.
The hotel, or the Commercial Space Station to give it its proper
name, is due to open by 2016 and, according to those behind it, will be
‘far more comfortable’ than the International Space Station used by
astronauts and cosmonauts.
In the
weightlessness of space, visitors can choose to have beds that are
either vertical or horizontal, while showers will be sealed affairs to
stop water going where it shouldn’t (those aboard the International
Space Station must make do with sponge baths until they return home).
Tourists, who will be
accompanied by experienced crew, will dine on food prepared on Earth
and sent up on the rocket, to be reheated in microwave ovens.
The plan is to do
away with the freeze-dried tubes of nourishment given to astronauts and
replace them with delicacies such as braised veal cheeks with wild
mushrooms, white bean puree, potato soup and plum compote.
Space tourism: The
hotel room pods will be fitted with binoculars and cameras so guests can
enjoy the spectacular intergalactic views
Space age: The rooms
will also act as an emergency bothole for astronauts at the manned space
station
Iced tea, mineral
water and fruit juices will be available, but alcohol will be strictly
prohibited. Toilets will use flowing air instead of water to move waste
through the system.
Waste water will be
recycled, while the air will be filtered to remove odour and bacteria
and then returned to the cabin.
Sergei Kostenko,
chief executive of Orbital Technologies which will construct the hotel,
said: ‘Our planned module inside will not remind you of the
International Space Station. A hotel should be comfortable inside, and
it will be possible to look at the Earth through large portholes.
‘The hotel will be
aimed at wealthy individuals and people working for private companies
who want to do research in space.’
Tourists might also
find themselves playing host to unexpected guests – there is a plan for
the hotel to be used as an emergency bolthole for astronauts aboard the
International Space Station if there is a crisis, rather than bringing
them all the way back to Earth.
Drop-off point:
Guests will be sent in to the Commercial Space Station via Russian Soyuz
rockets
Exclusive: The hotel
will be aimed at wealthy individuals and people working for private
companies who want to do research in space
Opening time: Orbital
Technologies said it hoped the hotel will be up and running in just
five years time
Price: The amount spent
on the project has not been revealed, but a five-day stay will cost around £100,00
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar