Most people have a “bucket list” when it comes to vacation destinations. It may be a remote jungle or an over-water tiki hut – the possibilities are nearly endless. However, the sky is literally the limit when it comes to a vacation at the Von Braun Space Station hotel.
According to the Gateway Foundation, the organization that is spearheading the project, construction on the hotel will be completed mainly by robots and drones. The Foundation hopes to have an average of 100 people staying on-site at the Von Braun every week, beginning in 2025.
The hotel’s design is a nod to its namesake, Wernher von Braun, who served as Director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. In the 1950s, the aerospace engineer spoke of designing a space station in the shape of a giant wheel that rotates to generate its own gravity. The Von Braun hotel will span an impressive 623 feet in diameter with pressurized pods encompassing the outermost ring of the wheel. The pods will include hotel rooms, private living spaces, crew quarters, and research centers.
Although its primary use is as a vacation destination for interspace travelers, there are plans to create a permanent population of 400 residents. Von Braun visitors can expect all of the comforts of an earthbound hotel, including restaurants, bars, and even a gym. Since the hotel will produce and simulate its own lunar gravity, guests can rest easy knowing they (and their belongings) will not drift away into unknown frontiers.
With its warm lighting and natural colors and materials, the hotel promises to offer all of the comforts of home. Will space become the next “bucket list” destination? Tim Alatorre, senior design architect of the Von Braun Space Station, thinks so. He says, “Eventually, going to space will just be another option people will pick for their vacation, just like going on a cruise, or going to Disney World.”
Time (and space) will tell.