Pack Your Bags: Space Hotel by 2009

Katherine Mangu-Ward | August 16, 2007

Astropreneur and terrestrial hotel magnate Robert Bigelow has decided to speed up the timetable for his orbital hotel, making berths available by 2009, or perhaps even earlier. He already has two successes under his belt with Genesis I and II, sent up on Russian rockets, and rising launch costs due to "inflation, previously artificially low launch costs and the falling value of the U.S. dollar" have forced his hand:

Bigelow Aerospace's billionaire founder says he'll be skipping a step in his grand plan to send up an inflatable space habitat capable of hosting humans, due to escalating launch costs. That means Bigelow's Sundancer module, which will be designed to accommodate three people, could be ready to go even before 2010....

Sundancer had been set for launch in 2010, but Bigelow's comment that a habitable complex could be available "much earlier than any of us had previously anticipated" implies that 2009 or perhaps even late 2008 might be in the cards.

As always with the private space race, caution is advised:

Just don't chisel those dates in stone: Sure, Bigelow Aerospace has been successful so far, but schedule snags could still develop during the Galaxy testing phase. And Bigelow might decide to wait until there's an orbital spaceship available to transport passengers to Sundancer. That could be a SpaceX Dragon, or a Rocketplane Kistler K-1, or a SpaceShipThree, or even an extra Russian Soyuz craft.

Meanwhile, China's mapping the moon, all the better to "exploit the vast quantities of Helium-3 thought to lie buried in lunar rock."

Read all about the private space scene here.

Comments

|8.16.07 @ 12:44PM|#

what was the verdict on sex in space? I remember reading about it in Reason, but not how it would go down.

|8.16.07 @ 1:06PM|#

Both the pleasures and problems of zero-gravity sex have been greatly exaggerated.

|8.16.07 @ 1:09PM|#

Warren,

That's Clarke, right?

thoreau|8.16.07 @ 1:10PM|#

I'm skeptical, but good luck to this project.

|8.16.07 @ 1:20PM|#

Pro Liberate,

DING, DING, DING! We have a winner. Wow, I'm surprised anyone got that. Good show!

jimmydageek|8.16.07 @ 1:26PM|#

Well, terrestrially we have the "Dirty Sanchez", the "Walrus", the "Strawberry Shortcake", and several others. We need to start coming up with names for the possibilities that abound with space sex.

Suggestions?

|8.16.07 @ 1:39PM|#

Well, terrestrially we have the "Dirty Sanchez", the "Walrus", the "Strawberry Shortcake...

you are forgeting the Cleveland Steamer (probably impossible in zero-g without ducttape) and the Donkey Punch (probably more fun in zero-g).

|8.16.07 @ 1:52PM|#

Warren,

Only two dings, because I can't remember for sure which book it's from. Imperial Earth?

|8.16.07 @ 1:57PM|#

All I can come up with is the "Klingon".

Goldthwait|8.16.07 @ 3:34PM|#

The Donkey Punch?

Goldthwait|8.16.07 @ 3:35PM|#

Given the subject of space sex, it's only a matter of time before someone makes a joke about Uranus.

|8.16.07 @ 4:15PM|#

Pro Lib,
You get credit for all three dings just for the author. The book is 2010. The bonus question is: To whom is the quote attributed?

|8.16.07 @ 4:20PM|#

Um, uh, who is Heywood Floyd? I can almost see the text but can't quite remember.

|8.16.07 @ 4:24PM|#

BZZZZZZZ sorry no. The correct answer is: a famous remark attributed to at least a dozen astronauts and cosmonauts.

Here's the RPG with a copy of Choice: the best of Reason and the CATO pocket constitution as parting gifts.

|8.16.07 @ 4:32PM|#

I really shouldn't but...

The Shuttle Bay: The man, holding the woman under her arms, withdraws by lifting her off and positioning her mouth to catch the globules he just launched.

|8.16.07 @ 4:39PM|#

what was the verdict on sex in space? I remember reading about it in Reason, but not how it would go down.

In space, where there is no up or down, you don't go down on someone; you just go.

|8.16.07 @ 4:49PM|#

My understanding is that there hasn't been any sex in space per se. However, the Canadian robot arm has been used inappropriately.

|8.16.07 @ 5:07PM|#

what was the verdict on sex in space? I remember reading about it in Reason, but not how it would go down.

Nice one, Stevo

|8.16.07 @ 5:09PM|#

If in space you can't go down on some one, you only can go on them, does this mean astro-sex foreplay involves golden showers?

|8.16.07 @ 5:32PM|#

I'm writting Stevo's comment down and stealing it as my own for use in everyday convesations.

|8.16.07 @ 8:08PM|#

Mr. President, we must not allow a Helium 3 gap!

Andrew Ian Dodge|8.17.07 @ 10:19AM|#

I do hope they get this going soon. It would be a very cool way to spend a holiday over-looking earth in a space hotel.

Dr. Ellen|8.17.07 @ 1:43PM|#

Open the pod bay door, Helen ...