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The concept of space travel is gradually shifting from government-led missions and scientific exploration to private enterprise and commercial tourism. Building on developments led by companies founded by Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, the next major advancement in commercial space infrastructure is currently under development: Voyager Station, the world’s first space hotel. Voyager Station is being developed by the Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC), a California-based space construction company that now operates under the name Above Space. The facility, which is expected to launch in 2027, is designed as a rotating space station capable of hosting up to 280 guests and 112 staff. The structure will include restaurants, a gym, a cinema, event spaces, and residential-style accommodation.
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The concept of space travel is gradually shifting from government-led missions and scientific exploration to private enterprise and commercial tourism. Building on developments led by companies founded by Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, the next major advancement in commercial space infrastructure is currently under development: Voyager Station, the world’s first space hotel. Voyager Station is being developed by the Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC), a California-based space construction company that now operates under the name Above Space. The facility, which is expected to launch in 2027, is designed as a rotating space station capable of hosting up to 280 guests and 112 staff. The structure will include restaurants, a gym, a cinema, event spaces, and residential-style accommodation.
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The space hotel will span approximately 125,000 square feet, distributed across 24 individual modules. These modules will serve various purposes, including luxury lodging, dining and leisure services, retail outlets, and areas allocated for commercial or industrial use. A defining feature of Voyager Station is its ability to simulate gravity. The station’s rotating wheel-like design is based on a concept first proposed by Wernher von Braun, using centrifugal force to replicate gravitational pull. Initially, this artificial gravity will be equivalent to lunar gravity—roughly one-sixth of Earth’s. The long-term plan is to calibrate the gravity level according to Martian or near-Earth equivalents as the technology matures.
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Guests will access the station via a central, zero-gravity hub. From there, they will move through elevator systems to the outer modules, where artificial gravity is active. This layout allows passengers to experience both microgravity and gravity-supported environments within the same facility.
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The issue of cost remains a challenge for widespread access to space tourism. While a seat on early suborbital flights, such as those offered by Blue Origin, has cost up to $28 million, OAC’s leadership has stated that they intend to make space stays more widely accessible as launch costs decline. According to OAC’s Chief Operating Officer Tim Alatorre, future stays at Voyager Station should eventually come down to a matter of personal preference rather than financial exclusivity. Reductions in launch costs are expected with the arrival of spacecraft like SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy systems.
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Although SpaceX is not directly involved with Voyager Station, the company acknowledged the project on social media, suggesting potential future collaboration, particularly regarding transportation services.
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To test the core technology before launching the full-scale hotel, OAC is developing smaller prototypes such as Gravity Ring and Pioneer Station. These structures are intended to validate the rotating habitat design and related subsystems in advance of the 2027 deployment goal.
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OAC has stated that the remaining barriers to the station’s construction are not technological, but financial and logistical. The company remains confident that with sustained investment, the project is on track for completion. If completed as scheduled, Voyager Station will mark a significant step forward in the evolution of commercial spaceflight—transforming Earth’s orbit into a destination for extended human habitation, business, and leisure travel.