SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA — Startup Orion Span announced on Thursday it plans to build a space hotel to launch in late 2021 and start accepting guests by 2022. <br /><br />"We are launching the first-ever affordable luxury space hotel," said Orion Span founder and CEO Frank Bunger, at the Space 2.0 Summit in San Jose, California, according to Space.com. <br /><br />A 12-day stay at Aurora Station will begin at $9.5 million. The space station will be roughly the same size as a large private jet cabin. <br /><br />It will be 43.5 feet long by 14.1 feet wide and have a pressurized volume of 5,650 cubic feet, according to an Orion Span representative. It will orbit at an altitude of 200 miles. <br />For comparison, the International Space Station is 357 feet long and has an internal pressurized volume of 32,333 cubic feet. <br /><br />The Aurora Station will be able to accommodate four paying guests and two crewmembers. <br /><br />Orion Span is also planning for new modules to be added to the space hotel over time. Long-term, the company says it hopes to sell actual space in new modules for living or subleasing.
