South China Morning Post, 18 April 2021
Many of us fantasise about boldly going to explore the final frontier but, despite decades of blue-sky thinking, space tourism has largely remained the stuff of science fiction.
Now, though, the race for space is heating up as several aeronautical tourism projects near fruition. They promise to offer travellers an out-of-this-world experience.
In March, American start-up The Gateway Foundation announced plans to launch the first commercial space hotel by 2027. The Voyager Station will be able to accommodate up to 280 guests and 112 crew members. The 50,000 square metre (540,000 sq ft) structure, shaped like a Ferris wheel, will rotate slowly to create gravity similar to that which is experienced on the moon.
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“Some of the key questions that the space travel industry is grappling with are around what novel ways existing technology can be repurposed to make space travel more cost-efficient, and in as short a time as possible,” says Lynette Tan, chief executive of the Singapore Space & Technology, an organisation that seeks to raise awareness and adoption of space-related technologies. To this end, the Singapore-based company hosts global conferences and organises education and outreach programmes. “Many industry experts have talked about lowering the cost of space travel as more players come on board, but that will only happen when researchers, scientists, government stakeholders, venture capitalists and the private sector come together,” says Tan. “The regulatory, commercial and technological aspects all need to be joined up.”
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