Space Holidays

When you’re 50, what sort of holiday will you want to take? If you’re under 30 today, by the time you are 50, you may be able to take a holiday in space!

A Japanese company, Shimizu, plans to open the first hotel in space within 15 years. They want to offer 3-day holidays in a space station, which will be bigger than the International Space Station. However, holidays in space will be very expensive. It is estimated that the trips will be about 90,000 dollars for three days. Shimizu believe that there are enough people who will be ready to pay such a high price. Other firms in Japan and the USA are even considering hotels on the moon. Trips to the moon will be even more expensive. The Japanese firm is quite serious; but they cannot start building their orbiting hotel yet. First, they will have to buy a commercial reusable shuttle. Today, there are no shuttles available. The old American shuttles, such as Atlantis and Columbia, were very expensive to launch. They had to be launched into orbit with a big rocket which cannot be reused. The shuttles of tomorrow will take off and land on their own, probably like aeroplanes. They will, therefore, be much more economical. Such shuttles do not exist yet; the Americans are working on them, but they will not be ready for several years. 

However, there are other big difficulties to take into consideration. How will ordinary people react to life in space? Today’s astronauts have to spend months, and even years, getting special training before going into space. Space tourists will also have to be in top form and will need to have some form of special training, too.

Holidays in space will not be for tomorrow, that is certain. But, they will come. That is virtually certain too!