When the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was first announced at the 2017 D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, Star Wars fans could not have been more excited.
Luxury Corellian starliner, the Halcyon, has been billed as a ship filled with Star Wars species, chances for daring adventures, and a level of immersion that is unrivaled anywhere in this galaxy, even at Disney’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land.
Now, though, it seems that Star Wars fans and space nerds alike will soon be able to blast off in a real-life “Galactic Starcruiser” thanks to a new space hotel project. Per a report about the Orbital Assembly Corporation’s ambitious endeavor:
The Orbital Assembly Corporation has plans to open its first hotel in space in 2027. The US-based company has been exploring this concept since 2019 and with the recent strides made to travel through space within the last couple of years, tourism into the solar system isn’t just for sci-fi movies anymore.
…[Orbital Assembly] is now spearheading to launch two space stations with tourist accommodation. The first is the Voyager Station which is being designed to accommodate 400 people and to open in 2027. The more recent designed Pioneer Station, which will accommodate 28 people is expected to be ready in three years [2025].
Voyager, the larger of the two hotels, will operate like “a spinning bucket of water,” per Tim Alatorre, Orbital Assembly’s COO. In a recent interview, Alatorre told CNN Travel that, although it is extremely expensive to travel to space right now, “The goal has always been to make it possible for large amounts of people to live, work and thrive in space.”
The larger Voyager model will ultimately be able to accommodate 400 Guests, while the smaller Pioneer station is expected to house 28 guests in customizable pods.
Another recent article about the space hotel project featured comments from executive Rhonda Stevenson:
“We’ve been able to develop a safe, secure, and reliable modular station that will generate revenue and profitability from both the tourist and commercial sectors sooner than our competitors who are adhering to NASA timetables.”
She added, “Multiple revenue streams from commercial, research and tourism markets will enable us to subsidize the travel market for a one to two-week stay. While launch costs continue to be a barrier, we expect tourists will be motivated to plan shorter, or more frequent, stays as space travel becomes less expensive.”
Credit: Orbital Assembly Corporation
