STEP 4: BOOK A HOTEL

billions through Amazon and having financed the renaissance of has said that his space venture, Blue Origin, is his “most important work”. His sights have always been set on the stars (he led Princeton’s chapter of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) and now, Bezos is slowly but surely getting there.

While Virgin Galactic has promoted itself aggressively in the media, Blue Origin, actually the oldest venture having been founded in 2000, has been more discreet. The cost for flying to space with Blue Origin remains unknown, and tickets are not yet for sale. In December 2019, Blue Origin launched its 12th unmanned test flight to the edge of space and back. Rumour has it that this could be one of the last trial runs before passengers are welcomed aboard. The New Shepard spacecraft is designed to seat six passengers at a time, with what are described as the largest windows in the business for optimal universe-viewing pleasure.

So you’ve made it to space. Now where do you spend the night? Surely you’re not the type who enjoys sleeping on a plane. As commercial space flight is picking up speed, some companies are racing to cater to what comes next— space hotels.

Orion Span, which describes itself as a commercial space company, has announced that its space hotel, Aurora Station, could launch as soon as 2021 and open to guests in 2022. Located 321 km from Earth, Aurora Station will orbit its guests around the globe 16 times per day, meaning travellers will experience a sunrise and sunset from space every 90 minutes. A 12-day visit would cost at least US$9.5 million, and it can only host six people at a time, including crew, so think of this as the ultimate summer share.