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Galactic Suite Space Hotel To Open in 2012

It may sound a little Dr. Evil, or just plain far-fetched, but as of now, the Galactic Suite space hotel is a go for 2012. Barcelona-based architect Xavier Claramunt is promising a three-night stay 300 miles in orbit to anyone with 3 million euros ($4.15 million). The package includes shuttle trips to and fro plus an 18-week training program on a Caribbean island. Details surrounding certain creature comforts and necessities are still being ironed out.

Galactic Suite

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  Press Release
  EQUIP Xavier Claramunt
  GALACTIC SUITE
  (Spain)
  GALACTIC SUITE PROJECT TO PROVIDE JOURNEYS INTO SPACE FOR €3 MILLION
  The price will include 18 weeks’ preparation on a Caribbean island, the journey into space and three nights’ accommodation in the orbital hotelDuring their stay, the space tourists will participate in international space experiments
  
  
• 
  Galactic Suite Project has presented the first space tourism package to include preparation, transport and accommodation in an orbital hotel. The Barcelona-based space tourism company was formed by various professionals in the aerospace industry.
  
• 
  The journey is likely to last 18 weeks, and the first tickets should go on sale in 2008 for around €3 million.
  According to Xavier Claramunt and Marsal Gifra, the directors of Galactic Suite Project, “this is the first package deal, as it includes transport from the tourist’s home to the Caribbean island, the training required for journeys into orbit, the flight to the hotel and three nights’ accommodation in the Galactic Suite”.
• 
  Furthermore, the space tourists will also take part in scientific experiments. The company has already contacted various scientific organisations interested in making use of the space tourists in zero gravity to obtain samples.
• 
  Another attraction of this journey is the possibility to orbit the Earth 15 times every day, and to see 15 sunrises. The hotel will be located at a certain angle from the equator.
• 
  Orbital hotel chain
  The Barcelona-based company is aiming to develop an “orbital hotel chain” with modular space accommodation based on the natural growth of a grapevine. The chain will orbit the Earth at an altitude of 450 km (300 miles) and will welcome its first guests in 2012.
• 
  In addition to the space hotel, Galactic Suite Project is also planning a hotel complex on a Caribbean island to accommodate the tourists, as well as on the space shuttles that will transport the “space suites”.
  Galactic Suite Project was set up in Barcelona in January 2007 by various architects, aerospace engineers and industrial engineers from Spain and the US. The founders have already made initial contact with Japanese and UAE private investors interested in investing in the project.
• 

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Lest you think Claramunt is just a lone wacko day dreamer, he has company. He claims to be backed by an unnamed US firm whose true intention is to colonize Mars, and thinks this would be a step in the right direction. Claramunt is also in talks with other financiers from Japan and the United Arab Emirates.
The 2012 configuration will be a three-bedroom "boutique hotel" with pods launched from individual rocket missions, then joined up in space. Claramunt says that the system is designed for modularity and expansion "based on the natural growth of a grapevine."
Though it is not clear exactly what intergalactic shuttle service Claramunt will be using, his concept artwork depicts a shuttle that may be related to SpaceShipOne, so the likely candidate is Virgin Galactic. You spacecraft fans may want to confirm that, or contribute your own analysis.
Claramunt told Reuters that while he believes there are 40,000 people on earth capable of enjoying his luxury offering, his team is still busy solving some problems.

During [their stay] guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and use Velcro suits to crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman.

Reuters also explains that for showering, "guests will enter a spa room in which bubbles of water will float around." The final frontier is the toilet.

"It's the bathrooms in zero gravity that are the biggest challenge," says Claramunt. "How to accommodate the more intimate activities of the guests is not easy."

He did not elaborate, but one wonders if he is going to be asking the well-heeled guests how they feel about suction and drinking their own urine. The Galactic Suite press release says the space tourists will also take part in scientific experiments, but again, there is no elaboration. I'm thinking Barry White, Hennessy and the right chapters from Robert Heinlein's naughtier sci-fi, and experimentation will just happen, yo.
To make a reservation, send an e-mail to reservations@galacticsuite.com. (Seriously.)
[Reuters]
[Galactic Suite]
[Interview with Claramunt in Spanish]
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