At yesterday’s Space 2.0 Summit in San Jose, California, plans for the pioneering space hotel Aurora Station were revealed by the company behind its development, Orion Span. As the first fully modular space to have been created, Aurora Station will operate as the world’s first luxury space hotel, hosting four guests along with two crew members at one time.

Named after the natural phenomenon that illuminates the sky, this inspired hotel concept will give travelers an authentic once-in-a-lifetime astronaut experience as they set off on their 12-day journey, which starts at $9.5m per person.

Chief executive officer and founder of Orion Span, Frank Bunger, says: “We developed Aurora Station to provide a turnkey destination in space. Upon launch, Aurora Station goes into service immediately, bringing travelers into space quicker and at a lower price point than ever seen before, while still providing an unforgettable experience. Orion Span has additionally taken what was historically a 24-month training regimen to prepare travelers to visit a space station and streamlined it to three months, at a fraction of the cost. Our goal is to make space accessible to all, by continuing to drive greater value at lower cost.”

With the space hotel slated to launch in 2021 and host its first guests in 2022, deposits are now being accepted for future stays. The fully refundable deposit is set at $80,000 per person.

During their time on board, 200 miles above the Earth’s surface, guests will experience the exhilaration of zero gravity, look out at the northern and southern aurora, fly over their hometowns and take part in research projects, while keeping in touch with family and friends back at home through high-speed wireless Internet connection. With the space hotel orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes, guests will see an average of 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours.

Before setting off on this epic journey, guests will be taken on a three-month Orion Span Astronaut Certification course, a portion of which is undertaken at Orion Span’s state-of-the-art training facility in Houston, Texas.

While Aurora Station is primarily being developed as a space hotel, it will have other functions, as Frank Bunger goes on to explain: “Aurora Station is incredibly versatile and has multiple uses beyond serving as a hotel. We will offer full charters to space agencies who are looking to achieve human spaceflight in orbit for a fraction of the cost – and only pay for what they use. We will support zero gravity research, as well as in space manufacturing. Our architecture is such that we can easily add capacity, enabling us to grow with market demand like a city growing skyward on Earth. We will later sell dedicated modules as the world’s first condominiums in space. Future Aurora owners can live in, visit, or sublease their space condo. This is an exciting frontier and Orion Span is proud to pave the way.”

To find out more and place a deposit, go over to orionspan.com.