Hilton Hotels aims to be the first group in history to open a hotel on a new space station, set to launch in 2027. Meanwhile, for science fiction fans, the hotel in space is a dream come true, if they can afford it. Read on to find out more about this futuristic venture in space travel.
Hilton Hotels to launch first hotel in space
Science fiction TV shows and movies like The Expanse, Star Trek, Altered Carbon and The Fifth Element make space travel look incredibly easy. Now, Hilton Hotels are planning to make a vacation in space convenient, by opening the first space hotel.
Hilton officially signed a deal with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin in October. In fact, the deal connects Hilton to the satellite Starlab, currently under construction by Voyager Space and its parent company, Nanoracks. Meanwhile, it is planned to launch the space station in 2027, with Hilton placing hospitality suites and other lodgings on the station. Moreover, the deal is the first of its kind inked between a hotel company and the space business.
According to Supercluster, this has always been a plan for Hilton. In fact, the company first dreamed of putting a hotel in space during the Space Race of the 1960s. In fact, Barron Hilton, son of founder Conrad Hilton, already had major plans for an orbital hotel and lunar hotel. Moreover, he announced his plans in a 1967 presentation at the American Astronomical Society Conference.
Meanwhile, Hilton revealed detailed plans for his space hotels. These would include a Moon resort with a common area overlooking the Earth. However, it would also have an underground section to handle the fluctuating temperatures experienced on the lunar surface. Whether a Moon hotel will be in the making is so far unknown.
Hilton said space would be his next frontier
It turns out Barron Hilton wasn’t just a dreamer relating to space. In fact, he was an aviation expert who could fly several different aircraft. When in the 1960s, Hilton believed space to be the next frontier, he consulted Don Douglas of the McDonnell Douglas aircraft manufacturing company. Moreover, he hired students from Cornell University to run a study to see if a space hotel would be possible.
Meanwhile, Hilton’s dream of putting hotels in space excited the general public in the USA, who were already thrilled by astronauts and rockets. The Moon landing in 1969 only made people more excited about the idea of a vacation in space.
While Hilton’s ideas may have been premature, his plans weren’t just speculation and were a serious consideration. In fact, this laid the groundwork for the deal between Hilton and Voyager Space.
Meanwhile, new innovations in technology can only help to upgrade Barron’s plans, including a full, nuclear-operated kitchen. Finally, it seems that Hilton Hotel’s dreams for off-world tourism have finally paid off.
However, the space station that will house Hilton’s hotels will not be ready until at least 2027. However, while rich businessmen have already traveled to the edge of the atmosphere, actual vacations in space are looking like an exciting reality.