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You Might Be Able to Vacation in This Space Hotel by 2030

Voyager Station will feature a restaurant, bar, and vacation villas you can purchase.

Space tourism is no longer the stuff of science fiction. Rather, it's just around the corner.

Aside from private missions to space — like 2021's Inspiration4 , during which members of the general public spent a few days in a SpaceX vehicle circling the Earth, and the upcoming DearMoon mission, slated for 2023, which will see civilians circling the moon — there are also a few space "hotels" in the works.

One is Orbital Assembly's Voyager Station , currently scheduled to begin construction in 2026 and welcome guests by the end of the decade. The corporation is also slated to launch Pioneer Station , a smaller gravity-enabled "space-based business park" that's on track to being fully operational as early as 2025.

Taking cues from science fiction films like "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Interstellar," Voyager Station and Pioneer Station will each create their own artificial gravity by using centrifugal force. The new space stations will take on the shape of a Ferris wheel, spinning to simulate gravity in their pods.

Though they may look unusual compared to hotels on Earth, the rooms and amenities aboard each station will be largely familiar to regular travelers. On Voyager Station, there will be luxurious accommodations for up to 400 guests, including villas available for purchase as vacation homes as well as themed restaurants, concert venues, bars and lounges with views of the Earth, gyms, and health spas. In essence, it's your standard high-end resort, just in space.

Orbital Assembly

Pioneer Station will be smaller in size, with enough space to accommodate up to 28 guests. Rather than providing super-luxe amenities like the Voyager Station, its main function is to serve as a blended commercial, research, and tourism facility.

Due to the presence of gravity on the station, guests will be able to do regular activities — eat and drink or sleep — without having to worry about spills or floating, unlike on current space stations.

“For the average person, being in space will be a sci-fi dream experience,” said Orbital Assembly's chief operating officer Tim Alatorre in a press release . “Our vision is to make space a destination people will yearn to visit, with familiar elements provided by the presence of gravity."

Plans for the space hotel were first revealed in 2019 under the name Von Braun Rotating Space Station, but there has been a bit of rebranding since then — while aerospace engineer Wernher Von Braun was crucial to the development of rockets, he also worked under the Nazi regime in Germany before coming to the U.S. and eventually joining NASA.

The opening date has also been pushed back — the company's original estimate for the Voyager Station's debut was 2025 — which calls into question the ambition of a debut by 2030. According to Orbital Assembly, any related delays were due to the Covid-19 pandemic and not technological holdups.

In any case, it's likely space hotels will become a reality soon enough, especially given the fact that Voyager and Pioneer Stations aren't the only residential stations currently in development ( Axiom Space's Axiom Station is also in the works).

Orbital Assembly is currently taking reservations for stays aboard Pioneer Station, which is expected to open to the public in 2025. Interested parties are encouraged to reach out via the online contact form to learn more about pricing (which hasn't been publicly released yet), trip duration, and availability. Similar information for Voyager Station has not been released — keep an eye on the company's website for updates.

Alatorre hopes spending time in space will also help to influence and improve guests' experience on Earth upon returning from such a unique and inspiring journey. “Once people get to space, it will change their perspective about Earth. Space travel is still in its infancy, and we’re excited to do our part to push it forward to help improve life on Earth.”

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News Releases Category | September 20, 2022

Hilton and Voyager Space to Partner on Improving Stays in Space — Designing Crew Lodging, Hospitality Suites for Starlab Space Station

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DENVER, Co. and MCLEAN, Va. – When you’re going into outer space for an extended period of time, Hilton and Voyager Space want astronauts and space tourists to know it matters where you stay. Voyager, a global leader in space exploration, today announced Hilton will be the official hotel partner of St arlab , Voyager’s planned free-flying commercial space station. 

"Starlab will be more than just a destination, it will be an experience made infinitely more unique and artful with the Hilton team’s infusion of innovation, expertise and global reach." Dylan Taylor Chairman and CEO, Voyager Space

“Starlab will be more than just a destination, it will be an experience made infinitely more unique and artful with the Hilton team’s infusion of innovation, expertise and global reach,” said Dylan Taylor, chairman and CEO, Voyager Space. “Voyager and Hilton are acutely focused on creating innovative solutions for the future of humanity and this partnership opens new doors to what is possible for comfort-focused space exploration and habitation.”

Voyager, and its operating company Nanoracks, were awarded $160 million in NASA funding in 2021 for the Starlab space station, which is set to replace the International Space Station. Starlab is planned to have the capacity to continuously host up to four astronauts and house the George Washington Carver (GWC) Science Park , a state-of-the-art laboratory system and first science park in space. Starlab leverages Voyager and Nanoracks' experience managing global customer experience and research operations on the International Space Station for over a decade.

"This landmark collaboration underscores our deep commitment to spreading the light and warmth of hospitality and providing a friendly, reliable stay – whether on the ground or in outer space.”  Chris Nassetta President and CEO, Hilton

“Hilton has been innovating to improve the guest experience and pioneering new destinations for travel for more than a century. We are thrilled to partner with Voyager to bring that expertise to Starlab,” said Chris Nassetta, president and CEO, Hilton. “For decades, discoveries in space have been positively impacting life on Earth, and now Hilton will have an opportunity to use this unique environment to improve the guest experience wherever people travel. This landmark collaboration underscores our deep commitment to spreading the light and warmth of hospitality and providing a friendly, reliable stay – whether on the ground or in outer space.” 

This first-of-its-kind venture builds on Hilton’s effect in new and emerging markets, its storied history with space , and its global lodging and hospitality leadership, welcoming more than three billion guests across a portfolio of 18 brands comprising 7,000 properties in 122 countries and territories. In partnership with Voyager, Hilton will bring this unique scale and customer focus to Starlab as it continues to serve every traveler for every trip occasion. 

The research and design work being dedicated to Starlab could also lead to advancements driving sustainability and greater design efficiencies for future hotel owners in space and on Earth. Just as Hilton has done for its more than 100-year history, from creating the first central reservation system and being the first hotel to offer in-room air conditioning, to introducing Digital Key technology and pioneering Confirmed Connecting Rooms, the company will continue to set the standard for the industry - now bringing that legacy of innovation beyond Earth.

With its recently launched global platform, Hilton. For the Stay., bolstered by an ad campaign, “It Matters Where You Stay,” the company also brings a wealth of consumer insights that prove the stay is the crucial element that can make or break any trip, even to outer space. Hilton will bring the company’s renowned hospitality expertise and experience to support the design and development of crew suites aboard Starlab, helping to reimagine the human experience in space, making extended stays more comfortable. 

Voyager and Hilton will partner in the areas of architecture and design, leveraging Hilton’s world-class creative design and innovation experts, to develop Space Hospitality crew headquarters aboard Starlab, including communal areas, hospitality suites and sleeping arrangements for the astronauts. Additionally, the teams will seek to explore opportunities together for longer-term efforts including the ground-to-space astronaut experience, global co-marketing and branding, and other tourism, educational and commercial efforts.

Hilton & Space

Lunar hilton.

At the height of the space race, Barron Hilton dreamed of a Hilton hotel on the moon, even going so far as to develop concept drawings and promotional materials such as reservation request cards and mock-up room keys for the Lunar Hilton.

Cookies in Space

Hilton became the first hotel company to participate in research aboard the International Space Station as the DoubleTree by Hilton famous warm chocolate chip cookie became the first ever food baked in space in an experimental oven.

Crew Lodging, Hospitality Suites for Starlab Space Station

Voyager and Hilton will partner in the areas of architecture and design, leveraging Hilton’s world-class creative design and innovation experts, to develop Space Hospitality crew headquarters aboard Starlab, including communal areas, hospitality suites and sleeping arrangements for the astronauts.

Longer‑Term Partnership with Voyager Space

The teams will seek to explore opportunities together for longer-term efforts including the ground-to-space astronaut experience, global co-marketing and branding, and other tourism, educational and commercial efforts.

Innovating the Guest Experience

The research and design work being dedicated to Starlab could also lead to advancements driving sustainability and greater design efficiencies for future hotel owners in space and on Earth.

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The famous DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookie was the first food baked in space

About Hilton

Hilton (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 23 world-class brands comprising more than 7,600 properties and nearly 1.2 million rooms, in 126 countries and territories. Dedicated to fulfilling its founding vision to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality, Hilton has welcomed over 3 billion guests in its more than 100-year history, was named the No. 1 World’s Best Workplace by Great Place to Work and Fortune and has been recognized as a global leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for seven consecutive years. Hilton has introduced industry-leading technology enhancements to improve the guest experience, including Digital Key Share, automated complimentary room upgrades and the ability to book confirmed connecting rooms. Through the award-winning guest loyalty program Hilton Honors, the nearly 190 million Hilton Honors members who book directly with Hilton can earn Points for hotel stays and experiences money can't buy. With the free  Hilton Honors app , guests can book their stay, select their room, check in, unlock their door with a Digital Key and check out, all from their smartphone. Visit stories.hilton.com  for more information, and connect with Hilton on  Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , Instagram  and  YouTube.   

About Voyager Space

Voyager Space is a space technology company with nearly 20 years of spaceflight heritage. Voyager's long-term mission is to create a vertically integrated NewSpace company capable of delivering any space mission humans can conceive. The firm's first-in-industry model is uniquely tailored to support the growth needs of commercial space companies by replacing traditional private capital models with a longer-term approach that provides permanent capital.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." All statements, other than statements of historical fact, including those with respect to Voyager Space, Inc.'s (the "Company's") mission statement and growth strategy, are "forward-looking statements." Although the Company's management believes that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that such expectations are, or will be, correct. These forward-looking statements involve many risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company's future results to differ materially from those anticipated. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; and the ability to obtain necessary financing on acceptable terms or at all. Readers should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve these known and unknown uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects the Company's current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

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World’s First Space Hotel to Open in 2027

• Written by Eric Baldwin
• Published on March 15, 2021

The first ever commercial space hotel, Voyager Station, aims to open by 2027. Accommodating 280 guests and 112 crew members, the project is being planned by Orbital Assembly Corporation , a construction company run by John Blincow. The station will be OAC's first major project, and the first commercial space station with artificial gravity.

The Orbital Assembly Corporation was formed with the purpose of accelerating the formation of a robust and self sustaining space construction industry. "We're trying to make the public realize that this golden age of space travel is just around the corner. It's coming. It's coming fast," said Blincow. "We cannot call SpaceX our partner, but in the future we look forward to working with them."

Construction of the 50,000-square-meter Voyager facility will start in 2026, and OAC aims to welcome the first passengers to the hotel in 2027. The team explains that the project is made possible by opening up low Earth orbit and beyond to construction, resource harvesting, development, and infrastructure. OAC aims to take advantage of this decrease in launch costs and increase in reliability and safety. 

OAC is planning to serve up traditional ‘space food’ like freeze dried ice cream, while they also aim to have recreational spaces for activities like basketball, taking advantage of weightlessness in space. No room rates have been announced, but the team hopes to one day make the cost similar to a cruise ticket. The first element of the rotating hotel to be built will be a central un-pressurized ring structure that will contain the docking hub. An outer ring truss will connect to the central ring by a network of spokes, and from there it will have 24 habitation modules.

News via OAC

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A Hotel in Space Could Be Operational in Just Five Years

By Nick Mafi and Katherine McLaughlin

If the idea of a hotel in space sounds enticing, you may not have to wait longer than five years. Above: Space Development (previously known as Orbital Assembly), a company that specializes in designing and constructing space stations, says it could have luxury accommodation in space within “60 months” of securing enough funding for the projects (the company says it would need to be upwards of $1 billion). With two space hotels in the works— Voyager Station and a more recently announced Pioneer Station —anyone’s next R&R could take place among the stars.

Voyager Station, Above’s first proposed space hotel, was originally designed to accommodate 280 guests, though new plans have updated that number to 400. Last year, the company shared designs for a smaller station called Pioneer Station, which would house significantly less people—only 28 at a time—but could be operational sooner than Voyager.

The Pioneer Station could be welcoming guests soon.

“We expect the duration to be as little as four days or as long as two weeks,” Rhonda Stevenson, Above CEO, tells AD of potential trips to the hotel. “It depends on cost and also the ability to acclimate to a space environment.” Price considerations aside, both Voyager Station and Pioneer Station are designed to minimize this second factor as much as possible.

To understand how the space stations work, consider a simple demonstration: water spinning in an upside bucket . If the force of a rotating bucket is greater than the force of gravity trying to pull the water out, the liquid in the container stays put. It might seem like magic, but it’s science.

The artificial gravity of both the Voyager and Pioneer stations works incredibly similar to this. “The station rotates, pushing the contents of the station out to the perimeter of the station, much in the way that you can spin a bucket of water—the water pushes out into the bucket and stays in place,” Tim Alatorre, Above’s COO and architect, previously told CNN .

The Voyager Station plans to accommodate 400 guests, while Pioneer Station will house 28.

Because of the physics involved, they look in many ways like giant floating wheels. On Voyager Station, the docking hub in the middle of the station will welcome ships and also serve as the operation and control center. Elevators in spoke-like shafts then transport guests and employees to the main hospitality area, which encircles the structure in the way a tire does a wheel. “Artificial gravity functionality informs the overall layout of the station and the engineering of the structural members,” Alatorre tells AD. “As we are generating artificial gravity through rotation, this introduces new structural scenarios that are unique to the space environment.”

Though simulated gravity is important for long-term space habitats, for many visitors who venture so far, feeling the weightlessness of space is a big part of the appeal. As such, the company has plans to ensure this experience isn’t missed. “The interiors of Pioneer station, in particular, are designed to function in both zero gravity and partial gravity,” Alatorre explains. “They are highly flexible to respond to the needs of a variety of tenants on the station.”

The team working on Voyager Station and Pioneer Station plans to make the amenities and comforts similar to those found on traditional hotels on Earth.

By Nick Mafi

By Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar

By Eric Wills

There will be an opportunity for a zero-gravity experience on Voyager as well, and the designs currently include plans for recreational activities such as basketball games where participants can soar higher due to the weightlessness of the environment. On theme, the team also plans to plate traditional “space food,” such as freeze-dried ice cream, in the hotel’s restaurant to add additional appeal.

However, it’s not just hotels in space that Above wants to achieve: It’s full intergalactic business parks. Both stations would accommodate more than just travelers, they would also be suitable for business, manufacturing, and research. In July of this year, the company announced a new partnership with NASA that gives Above access to testing facilities and other resources to further develop the company’s technology. In return, the private company will provide the federal agency with updates and insights on its technology and microgravity initiatives.

Certain parts of the hotel will include the weightlessness of space and other sections will feel more like Earth, so guests can enjoy their drinks and meals.

As of now, Above hasn’t commented on the price of a ticket to the hotel in space, but comparing it to other proposed public space missions, it will likely come at a steep cost. For example, Virgin Galactic plans to launch ordinary passengers into space at $450,000 per person, per trip. The team at Voyager and Pioneer Station, however, has already assured the public that as space tourism becomes more commonplace, they hope to eventually make a stay affordable for all.

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The World's First Space Hotel Is Set to Open in 2025, Promises 'a Sci-fi Dream Experience'

 "Our vision is to make space a destination people will yearn to visit,” Orbital Assembly Corp.’s Tim Alatorre says

Vacationing in space could become a reality in just three years.

On Tuesday, Orbital Assembly Corp. announced plans for two space stations with tourist accommodations. Pioneer Station, which can host 28 people, is set to be operational by 2025, while the larger Voyager Station, which was originally announced in 2021 with a capacity of 400 people, is scheduled to open in 2027.

"For the average person, being in space will be a sci-fi dream experience," says Tim Alatorre, Chief Operating Officer for Orbital Assembly Corp (OAC), said in a press release.

"Our vision is to make space a destination people will yearn to visit, with familiar elements provided by the presence of gravity," he added.

OAC is creating the world's first hybrid space stations for both work and play.

They will feature artificial gravity which will allow guests to move around as they normally would, rather than in a weightless environment. The technology is not currently available on space stations, according to the release.

Despite the ongoing conversation about the ethics of space travel, as private companies like billionaire Virgin founder Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin both offer commercial space travel, and civilians — including celebrities like Michael Strahan and William Shatner — launch past the Kármán line, Alatorre says, "We envision our Pioneer and Voyager space stations as the ultimate ecotourism destinations."

"Once people get to space, it will change their perspective about Earth," he continued. "Space travel is still in its infancy, and we're excited to do our part to push it forward to help improve life on earth."

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The customizable environments will feature five "spacious modules" built around OAC's rotating " Gravity Ring" architecture.

"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," Rhonda Stevenson, chief executive officer of OAC, said in the press release.

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."

OAC has not yet released information regarding reserving a stay on Pioneer or Voyager.

Related Articles

Book an out-of-this-world vacation. The first-ever 'space hotel' is set to open in 2027.

• Construction on the first-ever space hotel will begin in 2026.
• 'Voyager Station' is set to open to the public in 2027.
• The space hotel is taking reservations — but a three-day stay will cost around $5 million.

Dreaming of an out-of-this-world vacation? Good news.

Plans for the first-ever luxury space hotel have been announced.

Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC), a space construction company comprised of NASA veterans, intends to begin construction on the Voyager Station in 2026.

 The hotel is then expected to open to the public in 2027, according to CNN Travel .

Related stories

"We're trying to make the public realize that this golden age of space travel is just around the corner. It's coming. It's coming fast," the company's boss, John Blincow, told the media outlet.

Voyager Station will accommodate up to 280 guests and include a restaurant, bar, and gym, according to Travel + Leisure . 

The food on offer will provide a nod to its galactic location. Freeze-dried ice cream, for example, will be a staple dish at the space hotel, Architectural Digest reported.

To ensure that tourists don't float away, the ring-shaped hotel will have artificial gravity. Voyager Station will spin like a Ferris wheel and use centrifugal force — the apparent outward force on a mass when rotated — to simulate moon-like levels of gravity, Interesting Engineering said.

Even so, guests can expect to experience more weightlessness than on earth. According to Architectural Digest, recreational activities are planned, such as basketball games where guests can jump up to six times as high.

Tourists hoping to visit the hotel will have to undergo some training, The Washington Post reported. This is because those visiting will have to travel on the SpaceX Starship shuttle to get there.

Voyager Station is currently taking reservations . But it will cost $5 million for a three-day stay, according to Travel + Leisure.

The company hopes that rates become more reasonable over time. It should eventually cost the same amount as "a trip on a cruise or a trip to Disneyland," the team told CNN Travel.

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A vacation that’s out of this world: The first space hotel is set to start construction by 2026

Space tourism is happening a lot sooner than you may think

While the concept of space tourism may sound ludicrous, plans to launch people into space as a vacation vs. a vocation are well underway .

Orbital Assembly , a large space construction company, announced this year in a virtual event on its YouTube channel that it was on track to begin construction on the world’s (er, galaxy’s) first space hotel by 2026, Interesting Engineering reported .

John Blincow, chief executive of Orbital Assembly, told The Washington Post that the coronavirus pandemic may ultimately delay the construction start date from its original 2025 projection. However, he believes it could take just a year or two to assemble Voyager Station, the commercial space station that will house the hotel.

“It’s going to happen fast when it starts,” Blincow said. “And we believe it’s going to happen a lot, too, even before we finish the first one. We have buyers for other stations because they’re very, very lucrative.”

Tourists will need to undergo some training (both safety and physical) before boarding their SpaceX Starship shuttle to Voyager Station, which is designed to accommodate 280 eight guests and 112 crew members. That will include people there for space tourism alone, scientists conducting low-gravity research and service industry professionals doing what they do best — but in space. These included world-renowned chefs Blincow plans to work with who will have the chance to build out (electric and fire-free) kitchens for the space station.

“It’s a historic moment,” Blincow said. “You’re going to have the top chefs making really, really good food. And when you pay $5 million to go someplace, it’s not going to be burgers and fries.”

Blincow isn’t speaking in hyperbole. A trip to the first space hotel should cost $5 million for about 3½ days orbiting the Earth. That sum may sound extreme, but it’s exponentially cheaper than other up-and-coming opportunities for private citizens — for example, the first would-be spaceflight crew made up of private citizens each paid $55 million a ticket for Axiom Space’s trip up to the International Space Station for eight days.

Voyager Station’s mission is to accommodate those people expressing interest to go, and provide an experience more comfortable than what the International Space has to offer.

The rotating structure will have artificial gravity, so tourists won’t float through the place like goo in a lava lamp or experience “ moon-face ” — the head pressure-inducing, sinus-clogging effect caused by microgravity’s impact on the body’s fluid distribution. With their fluids where they’re supposed to be, hotel guests will be able to sleep, eat, shower and use the restroom normally, Blincow said.

That doesn’t mean staying at the space hotel will feel completely normal. Because you’re in lunar gravity, “when you jump in the air, you jump five times higher,” Blincow said.

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That jumping can be done in Voyager Station’s gymnasium, an area where space tourists can work out or play games. Blincow said the gymnasium will also be an entertainment venue for rock stars and talk-show hosts.

“We want to have Sting come up and play, and Beyoncé,” he said. “There’ll be two shows every night. … That’s part of the entertainment package.”

But the actual star of the show will be the opportunity for hotel guests to leave Voyager Station and do a spacewalk. Blincow said astronauts have told him over the years that the experience is so incredible that they don’t want to come back inside.

“There’s nothing between you and the universe but the face plate,” Blincow said. “Going out there and looking at the whole solar system and the Earth from the outside, it’s going to be an extraordinary moment.”

Blincow said the chance of the everyman staying in a space hotel shouldn’t seem like a reality far, far away. The hope is to eventually get the price down to be more attainable to the middle class.

“When you and I can look forward to buying a ticket and going [to space], that’s the golden age of space travel,” Blincow said.

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Even at the current earth-shattering price tag, travelers are eager for space tourism. More than 600 people have placed deposits, topping $80 million in total, for Virgin Galactic’s upcoming space opportunities , and thousands more are on a waitlist.

Roman & Erica , a travel company for ultrawealthy clients, started working with Axiom Space in 2018 to find people interested in paying the gargantuan fare for space tourism. Before the pandemic, the travel company’s co-founder, Roman Chiporukha, said his clients laughed off the opportunity. But once 2020 showed them how unpredictable life can be, the offer didn’t seem so crazy anymore.

“Now the conversations I’m having with people is, 'Oh, that’s very interesting. How long is the training? Where do I need to train? What’s the deposit like? Do I need to pay the $55 million in advance or is it in tranches?” said Chiporukha, whose clients pay annual membership prices ranging from $62,500 to $180,000.

“This is only going to grow and expand and become more interesting.”

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Space Hotels—The Final Frontier for the Ultra Rich

By JD Shadel

All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The Future of Travel column is a monthly series exploring the innovations and bold ideas moving travel forward.

In the mid-1960s, a travel agent on the East Coast started taking deposits for the first commercial trip to the moon, which has still never happened—at least yet.

Swept up in the Cold War space race , hospitality futurists had a firm belief travelers would soon be jetting beyond Earth. And the late Hilton CEO and president William Barron Hilton quickly saw the financial potential: they'd need somewhere to stay.

Hilton cited the anecdote of the moon travel agent in a talk at the American Astronautical Society conference in 1967, where he unveiled his hopes to build the first hotels off of our home planet , both on the moon and space stations in Earth’s orbit. “I firmly believe that we are going to have Hiltons in outer space,” he said. “Perhaps even soon enough for me to officiate at the formal opening of the first.”

The idea may not have come to fruition, but it was far more than a marketing gimmick, says  Mark Young , a hotel historian and archivist at the Hilton College, University of Houston. “People really took it seriously, and he did, too,” Young says. “We’ve got hundreds of letters from around the world where people heard about his talk and then they’re asking for reservations for the first hotel on the moon.” The closest any of them ever got to a Hilton in space was the brand’s space station cameo in Stanley Kubrick’s epic 1968 film  2001: A Space Odyssey .

Now space hotels are trending again with the rise of private space flights, Young says. “I haven't seen this much interest in space travel since the ’60s.”

A number of factors means that the ultra rich  enjoying a DoubleTree cookie in space, as astronauts did in 2019 , no longer seems all that far off. And as power in space quickly shifts from legacy government agencies toward billionaires, issues like space tourism ethics and private sector tycoons controlling access to outer space no longer seem so speculative—nor trivial, when you consider the  billions of dollars pumped into the emerging industry or its  growing climate impacts .

“I haven't seen this much interest in space travel since the ’60s,” says Mark Young, a hotel historian and archivist at the Hilton College, University of Houston.

Hotels in orbit are now serious business

“If someone was talking about a space hotel 10 years ago, I would’ve been like, that’s never going to happen,” says  Jordan Bimm , a space historian at the University of Chicago and recent Guggenheim fellow at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

And, certainly, there have been a raft of space hotel proposals since the early 2010s that have amounted to vaporware. In 2011, for example,  a Russian company announced it would have a space hotel in orbit as soon as 2016 . In 2018,  a California startup announced it would take reservations for a space hotel expected to open in 2022 , with 12-day stays starting at $9.5 million (like many space startups, the proposal is dead as its URL). And the list goes on.

But the private sector space race kicking into higher gear this year—from  Axiom’s second private mission to the International Space Station launching in May to  SpaceX planning for the first orbital test flight of its Starship rocket —signals “a new era where we can start to think of these things as plausible,” Bimm says. “I still don’t trust timelines but instead of thinking of them as fully fictitious, I think of them as off by five or 10 years.”

When it comes to major orbital hotel proposals, “the technology piece is there,” explains architect Tim Alatorre, chief operating officer at  Orbital Assembly Corporation , a space construction company that aims to have rotating space stations  Pioneer and  Voyager in orbit within a decade. The barrier for most proposals, he says, has largely been funding. “The number of space startups that have come and gone is a big number.”

What’s changed is NASA and other government agencies’ focus on funding the development of a private space economy. “They are putting a lot of emphasis on building up the commercial LEO [low Earth orbit] ecosystem,” he says. “NASA is outsourcing and hiring private companies for their lunar landers, for building space stations. That’s never happened before.”

The challenges in designing comfortable spaces

In the next couple of decades, the most likely space hotels will be accommodations on larger multi-purpose, low-orbit stations,  with at least one waving the Hilton flag .

Today, Hilton is in the early phases of consulting on the hospitality design for the private Starlab space station, funded by a NASA contract. That may be a far cry from the Lunar Hilton but it’s the first hotel brand to make any substantive steps toward space tourism.

"[It’s] the manifestation of decades of dreaming,” says Matt Schuyler, chief brand officer at Hilton. The brand’s involvement on the project will be helping develop “accommodations that make sense for your extended stay,” he says. And in the current era of private space day trips, creating comfortable extended stays is the design challenge. “How do you take the things that you've become accustomed to [on Earth] and make them comfortable in zero gravity environments?”

The giant leap for space hospitality will be ensuring it doesn’t feel like you’re “paying to go camp in a laboratory,” Alatorre says.

That’s why Orbital Assembly has made artificial gravity its unique selling proposition. “Our plan is to keep building stations and increasing gravity levels until we find what we're calling the gravity prescription.” That is, gravity that is familiar enough to Earth for comfort and safe for longer stays.

One unique challenge of space hospitality? Designing spaces that are comfortable.

The “overlord effect” and the ethics of space tourism

Comfort aside, the rise of space tourism raises a host of ethical problems ranging from the safety of passengers (for this,  one travel insurance company has recently announced space tourism coverage ) to the  colonial rhetoric many space boosters use . But most of all, the current era represents a significant paradigm shift: the ultra rich, rather than the military or science elite, will soon hold much of the power in the low-Earth orbit, with a growing number of proposed space stations and rocket launches being dominated by billionaire-owned startups in the private sector.

To appeal to the tiny percentage of the population who will be able to afford the astronomical costs of vacationing off planet, space tourism companies are eager to commercialize a god-level view of Earth. It’s what author Frank White termed “the overview effect,” a profound and self-transcendent kind of cognitive shift some astronauts have reported feeling when they first viewed Earth from space, a delicate marble of life suspended in darkness.

A handful of key players are using the overview effect to justify the inevitability—the manifest destiny—of their own private space projects. For example, when Jeff Bezos returned from his first suborbital flight in 2021, he claimed to have experienced just this thing, he said in a news conference,  citing it as the reason he would dedicate his time to aerospace company Blue Origin and his environmental philanthropy.

It’s almost a self-fulfilling prophecy for the ultra wealthy, says Bimm, who is currently working on a book about the overview effect. “It’s being sold as if you buy this ticket on a Blue Origin flight […] you’ll have this transformative effect,” says Bimm, whose  research has shown how advocates for space travel use the overview effect to drive investment .

In his work, Bimm argues that the overview effect is being co-opted by billionaires in this way to “naturalize whatever their pet project or impulse is.” And if you haven’t been to space, how can you argue they’re wrong? “I call this the ‘overlord effect’—this idea that people will go to space, claim they've had the overview effect, come back to Earth and then use that to justify whatever they want to do,” he says.

While  many who’ve reported experiencing the overview effect cite environmental consciousness as the outcome , the anticipated rise in  space tourism could worsen the climate emergency , according to a 2022 study by scientists at UCL, MIT and the University of Cambridge. Researchers found that the particles emitted by today’s rockets have enhanced climate effects and are “ 500 times more efficient at holding heat in the atmosphere .” Left unregulated, this emerging industry could outpace the  climate impacts of the commercial aviation industry , scientists warn.

That’s why, whether it’s a hotel in orbit or  Musk’s city on Mars , “we always have to think of them as plans for Earth really,” Bimm says. And therein lies the fledgling space tourism industry’s existential challenge: scaling today’s technology to make vacations in orbit feasible seems likely to make our home planet less habitable. “Space is not a transformative, utopian place. Space is a place where all our earthly problems are reproduced or amplified.”

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The Future of Space Tourism Is Now. Well, Not Quite.

From zero-pressure balloon trips to astronaut boot camps, reservations for getting off the planet — or pretending to — are skyrocketing. The prices, however, are still out of this world.

By Debra Kamin

Ilida Alvarez has dreamed of traveling to space since she was a child. But Ms. Alvarez, a legal-mediation firm owner, is afraid of flying, and she isn’t a billionaire — two facts that she was sure, until just a few weeks ago, would keep her fantasy as out of reach as the stars. She was wrong.

Ms. Alvarez, 46, and her husband, Rafael Landestoy, recently booked a flight on a 10-person pressurized capsule that — attached to a massive helium-filled balloon — will gently float to 100,000 feet while passengers sip champagne and recline in ergonomic chairs. The reservation required a $500 deposit; the flight itself will cost $50,000 and last six to 12 hours.

“I feel like it was tailor-made for the chickens like me who don’t want to get on a rocket,” said Ms. Alvarez, whose flight, organized by a company called World View , is scheduled to depart from the Grand Canyon in 2024.

Less than a year after Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson kicked off a commercial space race by blasting into the upper atmosphere within weeks of each other last summer, the global space tourism market is skyrocketing, with dozens of companies now offering reservations for everything from zero-pressure balloon trips to astronaut boot camps and simulated zero-gravity flights. But don’t don your spacesuit just yet. While the financial services company UBS estimates the space travel market will be worth $3 billion by 2030, the Federal Aviation Administration has yet to approve most out-of-this-world trips, and construction has not started on the first space hotel. And while access and options — not to mention launchpads — are burgeoning, space tourism remains astronomically expensive for most.

First, what counts as space travel?

Sixty miles (about 100 kilometers) above our heads lies the Kármán line, the widely accepted aeronautical boundary of the earth’s atmosphere. It’s the boundary used by the Féderátion Aéronautique Internationale, which certifies and controls global astronautical records. But many organizations in the United States, including the F.A.A. and NASA, define everything above 50 miles to be space.

Much of the attention has been focused on a trio of billionaire-led rocket companies: Mr. Bezos’ Blue Origin , whose passengers have included William Shatner; Mr. Branson’s Virgin Galactic , where tickets for a suborbital spaceflight start at $450,000; and Elon Musk’s SpaceX , which in September launched an all-civilian spaceflight, with no trained astronauts on board. Mr. Branson’s inaugural Virgin Galactic flight in 2021 reached about 53 miles, while Blue Origin flies above the 62-mile mark. Both are eclipsed by SpaceX, whose rockets charge far deeper in to the cosmos, reaching more than 120 miles above Earth.

Balloons, like those operated by World View, don’t go nearly as high. But even at their maximum altitude of 18 or 19 miles, operators say they float high enough to show travelers the curvature of the planet, and give them a chance to experience the overview effect — an intense perspective shift that many astronauts say kicks in when you view Earth from above.

Now, how to get there …

Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, which are both licensed for passenger space travel by the F.A.A., are open for ticket sales. (Blue Origin remains mum on pricing.) Both companies currently have hundreds or even thousands of earthlings on their wait lists for a whirl to the edge of space. SpaceX charges tens of millions of dollars for its further-reaching flights and is building a new facility in Texas that is currently under F.A.A. review.

Craig Curran is a major space enthusiast — he’s held a reserved seat on a Virgin Galactic flight since 2011 — and the owner of Deprez Travel in Rochester, N.Y. The travel agency has a special space travel arm, Galactic Experiences by Deprez , through which Mr. Curran sells everything from rocket launch tickets to astronaut training.

Sales in the space tourism space, Mr. Curran acknowledges, “are reasonably difficult to make,” and mostly come from peer-to-peer networking. “You can imagine that people who spend $450,000 to go to space probably operate in circles that are not the same as yours and mine,” he said.

Some of Mr. Curran’s most popular offerings include flights where you can experience the same stomach-dropping feeling of zero gravity that astronauts feel in space, which he arranges for clients via chartered, specialized Boeing 727s that are flown in parabolic arcs to mimic being in space. Operators including Zero G also offer the service; the cost is around $8,200.

You can almost count the number of completed space tourist launches on one hand — Blue Origin has had four; SpaceX, two. Virgin Galactic, meanwhile, on Thursday announced the launch of its commercial passenger service, previously scheduled for late 2022, was delayed until early 2023. Many of those on waiting lists are biding their time before blastoff by signing up for training. Axiom Space, which contracts with SpaceX, currently offers NASA-partnered training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center. Virgin Galactic, which already offers a “customized Future Astronaut Readiness program” at its Spaceport America facility in New Mexico, is also partnering with NASA to build a training program for private astronauts.

Would-be space tourists should not expect the rigor that NASA astronauts face. Training for Virgin Galactic’s three-hour trips is included in the cost of a ticket and lasts a handful of days; it includes pilot briefings and being “fitted for your bespoke Under Armour spacesuit and boots,” according to its website.

Not ready for a rocket? Balloon rides offer a less hair-raising celestial experience.

“We go to space at 12 miles an hour, which means that it’s very smooth and very gentle. You’re not rocketing away from earth,” said Jane Poynter, a co-founder and co-chief executive of Space Perspective , which is readying its own touristic balloon spaceship, Spaceship Neptune. If all goes according to plan, voyages are scheduled to begin departing from Florida in 2024, at a cost of $125,000 per person. That’s a fraction of the price tag for Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, but still more than double the average annual salary of an American worker.

Neither Space Perspective nor World View has the required approval yet from the F.A.A. to operate flights.

Unique implications

Whether a capsule or a rocket is your transport, the travel insurance company battleface launched a civilian space insurance plan in late 2021, a direct response, said chief executive Sasha Gainullin, to an increase in space tourism interest and infrastructure. Benefits include accidental death and permanent disablement in space and are valid for spaceflights on operators like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, as well as on stratospheric balloon rides. They’ve had many inquiries, Mr. Gainullin said, but no purchases just yet.

“Right now it’s such high-net-worth individuals who are traveling to space, so they probably don’t need insurance,” he said. “But for quote-unquote regular travelers, I think we’ll see some takeups soon.”

And as the industry grows, so perhaps will space travel’s impact on the environment. Not only do rocket launches have immense carbon footprints, even some stratospheric balloon flights have potentially significant implications: World View’s balloons are powered by thousands of cubic meters of helium, which is a limited resource . But Ted Parson, a professor of environmental law at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that space travel’s environmental impact is still dwarfed by civil aviation. And because space travel is ultra-niche, he believes it’s likely to stay that way.

“Despite extensive projections, space tourism is likely to remain a tiny fraction of commercial space exploration,” he said. “It reminds me of tourism on Mt. Everest. It’s the indulgence of very rich people seeking a transcendent, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and the local environmental burden is intense.”

Stay a while?

In the future, space enthusiasts insist, travelers won’t be traveling to space just for the ride. They’ll want to stay a while. Orbital Assembly Corporation, a manufacturing company whose goal is to colonize space, is currently building the world’s first space hotels — two ring-shaped properties that will orbit Earth, called Pioneer Station and Voyager Station. The company, quite optimistically, projects an opening date of 2025 for Pioneer Station, with a capacity of 28 guests. The design for the larger Voyager Station , which they say will open in 2027, promises villas and suites, as well as a gym, restaurant and bar. Both provide the ultimate luxury: simulated gravity. Axiom Space , a space infrastructure company, is currently building the world’s first private space station; plans include Philippe Starck-designed accommodations for travelers to spend the night.

Joshua Bush, chief executive of travel agency Avenue Two Travel , has sold a handful of seats on upcoming Virgin Galactic flights to customers. The market for space travel (and the sky-high prices that come with it), he believes, will evolve much like civilian air travel did.

“In the beginning of the 20th century, only very affluent people could afford to fly,” he said. “Just as we have Spirit and Southwest Airlines today, there will be some sort of equivalent of that in space travel, too. Hopefully within my lifetime.”

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A sunrise over the blue planet taken from the International Space Station.

'Luxury Space Hotel' Could Cater to Travelers by 2022

Soon after launch in 2021, the startup Orion Span hopes to send up extraterrestrial condos to capitalize on open space.

With all the madness going on here on Earth, have you ever thought about going into space ? Well, for a couple million dollars, you might be able to check off that bucket list-worthy to-do in the next four years.

Orion Span , a Houston-based space tech startup, has announced plans to launch the first-ever luxury space hotel into Earth's orbit by 2021. The company says the so-called Aurora Station will be ready to accommodate visitors the following year. (Related: " They Saw Earth From Space. Here's How It Changed Them. ")

The price of a ticket for a 12-day stay will be $9.5 million per person, which comes to $791,666 per night.

Not Your Average Space Stay

Orion Span has yet to contract with a launch provider to put future visitors—and the station—into orbit. In the past, private citizens have been sent to the International Space Station on $20-to-40-million round-trip tickets, but according to Frank Bunger , the company's founder and CEO, Orion Span's trips are less expensive because of declining launch prices. Right now, prospective flyers can put down an $80,000 refundable deposit for future stays. (Related: " Hotel in One of Earth's Driest Places Is Powered by the Sun ")

"Upon launch, Aurora Station goes into service immediately, bringing travelers into space quicker and at a lower price point than ever seen before," Bunger says in a statement . "Our goal is to make space accessible to all , by continuing to drive greater value at a lower cost."

The hotel , which is slated for launch into low Earth orbit (LEO) at around 200 miles from the Earth's surface, will be about the size of the cabin of a large private jet . Company representatives say it will be roughly 43 ½ feet long by 14 feet wide, with a pressurized volume of 5,650 cubic feet. By comparison, the ISS is much larger, at 357 feet long, an internal pressurized volume of 32,33 cubic feet, and soars 250 miles above Earth. (Related: " 21 Places to Stay if You Care About the Planet ")

Completed, Aurora Station will be f ully modular and host six people at a time with private, two-person suites . Four of those people will be guests and two will be crewmembers who are most likely former astronauts, the company says. With the help of engineers who have worked on the ISS, the hotel is currently in construction in Housten, while Orion Span develops software for it in the Bay Area.

Related: These Places Deserve More Travelers

Aboard the station, travelers will roam freely in zero gravity, while orbiting the planet every 90 minutes . They can take in the sights, which will include about 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours, through the station's many windows and get a virtual reality experience on the ship's "holodeck." Guests will also get the chance to participate in research experiments like growing edible plants—which can be taken home as souvenirs—and livestream with people back home via high-speed wireless Internet. (Related: " Top 10 Adventure Lodges Around the World ")

"We're not selling a hey-let's-go-to-the-beach equivalent in space," Bunger tells Bloomberg . "We're selling the experience of being an astronaut."

Historically, space travelers start preparations 24 months in advance, but Bunger says Orion Span has cut down this orientation to three months. The Orion Span Astronaut Certification (OSAC) will include a condensed version of online and in-person training at the company's facility in Houston, with final certification aboard the Aurora Station. (Related: " This Hotel Wants to Save the Rain Forest ")

Upon returning to Earth, guests "will be treated to a hero's welcome home," the company says.

Outerspace Condos

Orion Span will likely cater to private space tourists as well as government space agencies, Bunger says. A serial entrepreneur and former software engineer, Bunger has worked on other startups in the past, in addition to the seven-person Orion Span team. Combined, the team members have more than 140 years of experience in space.

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Orion Span isn't the first to look to the skies for entrepreneurial opportunity . Plans were recently announced for a four-room hotel addition to the ISS that would cost $40 million per person. The Texas-based Axiom Space has plans to take tourists to the ISS by next year and launch a commercial space station by 2024. Virgin Galactic , which said it would start sub-orbital space flights in 2009 , is planning to charge $250,000 for future extraterrestrial trips. (Related: " Falcon Heavy Rocket Makes History With Successful First Launch ")

"The commercialization of LEO is an exciting prospect, but it will be an exercise in determining what ideas are more real than others," Phil Larson , assistant dean and chief of staff at University of Colorado Boulder's College of Engineering and Applied Science, tells Bloomberg. Larson previously served on Elon Musk's SpaceX team and in the Obama White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy.

If Aurora Station is successful, the company wants to launch identical modules and build a private space station. Long-term, the vision is to sell space.

"We will later sell dedicated modules as the world's first condominiums in space," Bunger adds. "Future Aurora owners can live in, visit, or sublease their space condo."

Related: Photos of the ISS

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• PRIVATE SPACEFLIGHT

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'Luxury Space Hotel' to Launch in 2021

Well-heeled space tourists will have a new orbital destination four years from now, if one company's plans come to fruition.

That startup, called Orion Span, aims to loft its "Aurora Station" in late 2021 and begin accommodating guests in 2022. 

"We are launching the first-ever affordable luxury space hotel," said Orion Span founder and CEO Frank Bunger, who unveiled the Aurora Station idea today (April 5) at the Space 2.0 Summit in San Jose, California. [ Aurora Station: A Luxury Space Hotel in Pictures ]

"Affordable" is a relative term: A 12-day stay aboard Aurora Station will start at $9.5 million. Still, that's quite a bit less than orbital tourists have paid in the past. From 2001 through 2009, seven private citizens took a total of eight trips to the International Space Station (ISS), paying an estimated $20 million to $40 million each time. (These private missions were brokered by the Virginia-based company Space Adventures and employed Russian Soyuz spacecraft and rockets.)

"There's been innovation around the architecture to make it more modular and more simple to use and have more automation, so we don't have to have EVAs [extravehicular activities] or spacewalks ," Bunger said of Aurora Station.

"The goal when we started the company was to create that innovation to make simplicity possible, and by making simplicity possible, we drive a tremendous amount of cost out of it," he told Space.com. [ In Pictures: Private Space Stations of the Future ]

Orion Span is building Aurora Station itself, Bunger added. The company — some of whose key engineering players have helped design and operate the ISS — is manufacturing the hotel in Houston and developing the software required to run it in the Bay Area, he said.

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Aurora Station will be about the size of a large private jet's cabin. It'll measure 43.5 feet long by 14.1 feet wide (13.3 by 4.3 meters) and feature a pressurized volume of 5,650 cubic feet (160 cubic m), Orion Span representatives said. For comparison, the ISS is 357 feet (109 m) long and has an internal pressurized volume of 32,333 cubic feet (916 cubic m).

The private outpost will orbit at an altitude of 200 miles (320 kilometers) — a bit lower than the ISS, which is about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth on average. Right now, it's unclear how Aurora Station and its future occupants will get to orbit; Orion Span has yet to confirm any deals with launch providers, Bunger said.

Aurora Station will accommodate four paying guests and two crewmembers; these latter personnel will likely be former astronauts, Bunger said. Most of the guests will probably be private space tourists, at least initially, but Orion Span will be available to a variety of customers, including government space agencies, he added. 

And the space hotel will get bigger over time, if everything goes according to plan. As demand grows, Orion Span will launch additional modules to link up with the original core outpost, Bunger said.

"Our long-term vision is to sell actual space in those new modules," he said. "We're calling that a space condo. So, either for living or subleasing, that's the future vision here — to create a long-term, sustainable human habitation in LEO [low Earth orbit]."

Orion Span isn't alone in seeking to carve out this path. Several other companies, including Axiom Space and Bigelow Aerospace , also aim to launch commercial space stations to Earth orbit in the next few years to meet anticipated demand from space tourists, national governments, researchers and private industry. (Other private players, including Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, are developing vehicles to take paying customers to and from suborbital space, and are scheduled to begin commercial operations soon.)

If you've got $80,000 to spare, you can put a (fully refundable) deposit down on an Aurora Station stay beginning today. Folks who fly up will undergo a three-month training program, the last portion of which will occur aboard the space hotel itself, Bunger said. To learn more, go to www.orionspan.com .

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+ . Follow us @Spacedotcom , Facebook or Google+ . Originally published on Space.com .

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with  Space.com  and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

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Want to live in or visit space? This exhibit offers a preview

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live and work in space?

To find out, you might track down an astronaut or cosmonaut who spent time on the Russian space station Mir. Or, you could question one of more than 270 individuals who have spent time in the International Space Station, which, NASA boasts, is larger than a six-bedroom house with six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, a gym and a 360-degree-view bay window.

You could also grab some popcorn or some freeze-dried "astronaut" ice cream and watch a movie or TV show — such as "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Ad Astra" or "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" — that imagines what life might be like on a fictional space station.

Want more aviation news? Sign up for TPG's free biweekly Aviation newsletter .

Or you can jet over to Seattle's Museum of Flight to visit " Home Beyond Earth ." It's an exhibit opening in early June that focuses on space stations past, present and future and includes more than 50 artifacts, models, space-flown objects and uniforms.

The topic of long-term living in space is timely, according to Geoff Nunn, the exhibit developer and year-round space curator at the Museum of Flight. Right now, there are two space stations in Earth's orbit: China's Tiangong space station and the ISS, which has been hosting a revolving team of astronauts since November 2000 and is set to be retired around 2030.

"NASA and its international partners are looking to hand off operations of long-term activity in space to private space station companies. And several companies are developing successors to the International Space Station that will be privately owned and operated," Nunn said. "So, in the next decade or so we could see tremendous change in how we live and work in space."

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Nunn said that for this exhibit, the museum wanted to go beyond the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) aspect of living and working on a space station. It aims to dig deeper into the cultural influences and the human fascination with the nuts and bolts of what living and working in space might really entail.

To do that, the exhibit reaches back to the early science fiction stories hypothesizing and predicting what space stations might be like. It progresses to the history of actually living and working in space, which began with Skylab and Salyut in the 1970s and through to the current ISS. The exhibit also looks ahead to the near future and what the space community might be like.

Objects in the exhibit will include scale models of both historic and conceptual space stations, including a model of the ISS built by students at the University of Washington that has solar panels that sync up and rotate with the solar on the real ISS.

"Home Beyond Earth" will also include inflight garments from all the major types of space stations that have been in orbit (with the exception of China's Tiangong space station). It'll feature artifacts that have flown in space, such as the award-winning Space Cup , a zero-gravity coffee cup designed for NASA at Portland State University and tested on the ISS.

A test version of a 3D printer called the Refabricator, which is about the size of a dorm room refrigerator and was launched to the ISS in 2018, will be on exhibit. Nicole Stott's "The Wave" — the first watercolor painted by an astronaut in space on board the ISS in 2009 — will also be on display.

To help future astronauts better visualize what it might be like to live and work in space, the exhibit will issue digital cards or tokens that invite visitors to pick a space station of their choice and personalize their journey. For those who want souvenirs of their journey, there will be space travel posters featuring both real and imagined space stations.

So, is the Museum of Flight's space curator ready to live and work in a space station?

"I think if we can get a decently comfortable space up there," Nunn said, "I might consider it."

"Home Beyond Earth" opens June 8 at Seattle's Museum of Flight and will run through Jan. 20, 2025.

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Disney Is Going To Turn The Galactic Starcruiser Into A Space Themed Hotel- Rumor

I have recently been told a new rumor involving the now-closed Galactic Starcruise hotel at Walt Disney World. According to a source, Disney plans to turn the expensive building into a more basic space-themed hotel. The restaurant areas will also likely be reused, but the show elements probably will not return.

Disney spent an estimated $400 million on the structure that only remained open from March 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023. The hotel was themed to “Star Wars” and offered restaurants, interactive experiences, and an atrium where you could use the “Force” to jiggle the rocks. 

When the hotel rolled out, it also had a hefty price tag, starting at $4,800 and going up to $6,000. For the price, guests would get about 44 hours of “Star Wars” immersion, food, and experiences, including games on an iPad. 

After the initial excitement, the demand decreased, and the hotel was canceling dates, cutting down on dining services to match the diminished demand. It was eventually closed. 

Josh D’Amaro, Disney Parks Experiences and Products Chairman, indicated that something would become of the building , saying, “ No hints yet, but something will happen with it. ” 

If the new rumor is correct, Disney would reuse the building as a hotel, which is what most expect. Since the hotel is made to emulate a ship traveling in space, it would make the most sense to stick to that theme, especially since Universal Orlando is going all in on the space-theming with Epic Universe.

Universal Orlando’s new Prime Value hotels will sit side by side and will be called the Terra Luna, inspired by the massive and diverse planetary elements of the universe, and Stell Nova, inspired by distant galaxies, new stars, and black holes.”

At this point, it’s still just a rumor about the retheme, or untheming, of the Galactic Starcruiser. But it does make the most sense as Disney could keep a lot of the room elements, screens, and space-theming in place, and it would cost less than redoing the entire building. 

What do you think? Do you think this rumor is true? 

Comment and let us know!

The post Disney Is Going To Turn The Galactic Starcruiser Into A Space Themed Hotel- Rumor appeared first on Pirates & Princesses .

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Marriott Long Beach Downtown

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Welcome to Marriott Long Beach Downtown

Long beach hotel where downtown and the waterfront meet.

Exciting upgrades are underway. You may notice intermittent noise 8am-6pm. Our outdoor pool, M Club, and Great Room are closed until late May, our fitness center will be closed in April and May. Please consult Front Desk for alternative pool and fitness arrangements. Thank you for your patience. In the pulsating heart of Long Beach, Marriott Long Beach Downtown beckons you to uncover the city's vibrant currents of excitement and exploration. With modern decor and breathtaking harbor views, immerse yourself in the diverse and joyful lifestyle of Long Beach. From genuine hospitality and abundant amenities to the creative flair that infuses every corner, we're dedicated to ensuring your stay is filled with unforgettable moments. Our prime location places you perfectly at the crossroads of downtown and the waterfront so you can dive into the playful and diverse culture of Long Beach. Marriott Long Beach Downtown isn't just an amazing place to stay its a lifestyle.

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Rates vary by date & room type

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Check In: 4:00 pm

Check Out: 11:00 am

Minimum Age to Check In: 18

Smoke Free Property

Pets Welcome

Well-mannered and healthy dogs only. Fee applies.

Maximum Number of Pets in Room: 2

On-Site Parking

Hourly: $10.00

Daily: $42.00

Local Current

Local Current, the captivating Restaurant and Lounge within Marriott Long Beach Downtown, mirrors the coastal allure by weaving together 'Local' and 'Current' in a metaphorical dance with oceanic currents.

The Market - opening June 1, 2024

Staffed from 6 a.m. - 8 p.m. every day, but open for self service 24/7. Get your caffeine fix before you head out for a day of exploring in Long Beach. Stop by The Market to fuel up with beverages and bites.

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Enjoy our full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu on the go. Easily order and pay directly through our Mobile Dining application, or call in your order through our reception desk.

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Our fitness center includes Peloton bikes, TRX equipment, cardio & weight machines.

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Broaden your experience with us, whether by deepening your knowledge of cocktails in our Greatroom or learning something new with Manchester United.

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Pick up a fresh snack on your way out or linger over a meal with us. From light bites to classics with a local twist, enjoy food that is familiar yet elevated beyond the expected.

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Bring thoughtfully chosen details from our home to yours, from our iconic Marriott Pillow to our bath and body collection.

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111 East Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, California, USA, 90802

Taxi service; fee: 25.00 USD (one way) ;on request

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For more information about the physical features of our accessible rooms, common areas or special services relating to a specific disability please call +1 562-437-5900

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Inside the space hotel scheduled to open in 2025

Waking up in a chic hotel room with a view of the solar system could be the future of travel, at least if space company Orbital Assembly has anything to say about it.

The U.S.-based company has revealed new information and concepts for its space hotel idea, designs for which have been orbiting since 2019.

Originally premiered by Californian company the Gateway Foundation -- and then called the Von Braun Station -- this futuristic concept consists of several modules connected by elevator shafts that make up a rotating wheel orbiting the Earth.

The project is now being overseen by Orbital Assembly Corporation, a space construction company that cut links with Gateway.

Orbital Assembly is now aiming to launch not one but two space stations with tourist accommodation: Voyager Station, the renamed original design, is now scheduled to accommodate 400 people and to open in 2027, while new concept Pioneer Station, housing 28 people, could be operational in just three years.

The goal, says Orbital Assembly, is to run a space "business park" home to offices as well as tourists.

Space tourism seems closer than ever before -- over the past year, billionaire Virgin founder Richard Branson blasted into suborbital space with his company Virgin Galactic, while Star Trek actor William Shatner became the oldest person in space thanks to a jaunt with Blue Origin.

But there's still a pretty unbelievable price point attached to any space trip, which makes it hard for many of us to actually envisage spending our annual leave out of this world.

Tim Alatorre, Orbital Assembly's chief operating officer, thinks this barrier will lift as space tourism takes off.

"The goal has always been to make it possible for large amounts of people to live, work and thrive in space," Alatorre told CNN Travel in a new interview.

A home away from home

Alatorre says the appeal of new concept Pioneer Station is that its smaller scale makes it achievable sooner.

"It's going to get us the opportunity to have people start to experience space on a larger scale, faster," he said.

Office spaces and research facilities will also be up for rent on both Pioneer Station and Voyager Station.

This, said Alatorre, is a "win-win" for Orbital Assembly, as a lot of its near-term goals are funding-dependent.

Orbital Assembly envisages both stations resembling a rotating wheel orbiting the earth.

In a 2019 interview with CNN Travel, Alatorre explained the physics of Voyager Station as working like a spinning bucket of water.

"The station rotates, pushing the contents of the station out to the perimeter of the station, much in the way that you can spin a bucket of water -- the water pushes out into the bucket and stays in place," he said.

Near the center of the station there would be no artificial gravity, but as you move down the outside of the station, the feeling of gravity increases.

The physics haven't changed, said Alatorre more recently. But, he explained, as Pioneer Station will be smaller, its gravity level would be different. There will still be what he calls the "comforts" of artificial gravity, like showers, the ability to eat and drink sitting down, but the spaces with less gravity will allow for even more fun, space quirks.

Renderings of the interiors for both stations suggest an interior not dissimilar to a luxury hotel here on earth, just with some additional out-of-this-world views.

Alatorre, who has a background in architecture, has previously said the hotel's aesthetic was a direct response to the Stanley Kubrick movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," which he called "almost a blueprint of what not to do."

"I think the goal of Stanley Kubrick was to highlight the divide between technology and humanity and so, purposefully, he made the stations and the ships very sterile and clean and alien."

The space hotel's original name, Von Braun Station, was chosen because the concept was inspired by 60-year-old designs from Wernher von Braun, an aerospace engineer who pioneered rocket technology, first in Germany and later in the U.S.

While living in Germany, von Braun was involved in the Nazi rocket development program, so naming the space hotel after him was a controversial choice.

"The station is not really about him. It's based on his design, and we like his contributions towards science and space," said former Orbital Assembly CEO John Blincow, who is no longer associated with the company, in a 2021 CNN Travel interview. "But you know, Voyager Station is so much more than that. It is the stuff in the future. And we want a name that doesn't have those attachments to it."

'Not just the wealthy'

Space hops have become more commonplace over the past year, with Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and Elon Musk's company SpaceX organizing trips.

Alatorre said his team have "talked to pretty much everybody" in the space industry about collaboration.

"But the one thing that all of these companies are missing is the destination, right?" said Alatorre. "It's kind of like if you want to go see the Grand Canyon and you drive past it and come right back home."

The International Space Station has hosted tourists in the past, including the world's first space tourist Dennis Tito in 2001. But Alatorre suggests the ISS is primarily a place of work and research, and Orbital Assembly's space hotel fulfills a different niche.

"It's not going to be like you're going to a factory or you're going to a research facility," he said. Instead, it should feel like a "sci-fi dream."

"There's not wires everywhere, it's a comfortable space where you feel at home," he added.

As billionaires pump money into space, there's also a growing backlash against space tourism, with many people suggesting the money could be better spent on Earth.

In response to this criticism, Alatorre suggested that "a lot of life-changing technologies" stem from space exploration, like GPS.

Alatorre also posited that living in space will involve creating "sustainable societies."

"Those kind of closed loop systems are going to change the culture, the way people think about resource utilization," he said.

"Our environment isn't just Earth, it's the entire solar system. And there's so many resources out there, as we start to utilize and capitalize on those resources that's going to change and improve the standard of living here on Earth."

Despite the fact the cost of a ticket to space is currently hefty, according to Alatorre, space tourism won't just be for billionaires.

"We're doing everything we can to make space accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy," he said.

As well as cost, there are other roadblocks to creating a space community, said Alatorre, namely figuring out how much artificial gravity will be needed, and navigating current guidelines surrounding space radiation exposure.

But as tourists wouldn't necessarily stay for more than a couple of weeks, Alatorre suggested this wouldn't impact visitors, and would be more an issue for those working on the stations.

Jeffrey A. Hoffman, a former NASA astronaut who now works in MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told CNN Travel last year that a big roadblock for space tourism will be safety fears.

But Hoffman suggested that, as with air travel, a consistent safety record will get the concept off the ground, even with continued risk of accidents.

"I am excited about the idea that many, many more people will be able to experience being in space, and hopefully bring back to Earth a new sense of their relationship with our planet," said Hoffman, who suggested the word-of-mouth effect will also be key.

"When the word gets back and these initial travelers tell their tales -- you're not going to be able to keep people away." he said.

Alatorre, meanwhile, thinks space tourism is just getting started.

"For people who are naysayers or doubters, what I've always said is 'Give us time. It's going to happen. It doesn't happen overnight. And just wait us out, prove us out. And we'll show you what we're doing as we go along and then you can make your judgment."

The-CNN-Wire & 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

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Yury Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Centre (Zvezdny Gorodok - Star Town) (7 hours)

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The Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center is a Russian training facility responsible for training cosmonauts for their space missions. It is in Star City of Moscow Oblast, a name which may refer to the facility itself or to its grounds. (Read more about Yury Gagarin Cosmonauts training center )

The secret Star City was built to train Soviet cosmonauts, including Yuri Gagarin, the 1st man in space. Many other famous Russian cosmonauts trained here with Gagarin: German Titov, Valentina Tereshkova, the first female cosmonaut, and Alexei Leonov, the first cosmonaut to exit the spaceship into space . The best facilities were built for them: the world’s largest centrifuge and hydro laboratory. Many cosmonauts from other countries (USA, Japan, Germany and many others) also have trained here together with Soviet Russian cosmonauts. On this Star (Space) City Tour you will see:

• Models of Soyuz Soviet spacecraft 
• World's largest centrifuge with an 18-meter radius 
• Hydro laboratory, with the model of the International Space Station in water, which allows to simulate the weightlessness and many more

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• Entrance fee to Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre Museum
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This information is required to get access to the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, as per their security policy.

If it took Gagarin 1 year to get prepared, now it takes 7 years to become a cosmonaut, and 50 days to pass  security  check for foreign visitors.

Due to the security policy of the Centre, the guided tours are to be arranged in 50 days before the tour date. Last-minute arrangements are not available. 

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Money blog: 'Extremely worrying' mortgage trend revealed in new report; a third of people make this mistake when booking their holiday - and how to avoid it

A third of travellers are making the same mistake when going on holiday, figures show. Read about this and all the latest consumer and personal finance news in the Money blog - and leave a comment or your money problem in the box below.

Thursday 16 May 2024 20:00, UK

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Landlords selling properties "represent the single biggest threat to renters", according to the UK's landlord association.

Government data shows 5,790 households were threatened with homelessness between October to December last year due to receiving a notice to end an assured shorthold tenancy (this ends a person's tenancy).

And the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has said 45% have been left needing help because their landlord planned to sell the property in the second half of 2023.

Separately, data from Rightmove found that 50,000 rental properties were needed to bring the supply of rental homes back to pre-pandemic levels.

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA, said the only answer was to "ensure responsible landlords have the confidence to stay in the market and sustain tenancies".

He said it was "vital" the Renters Reform Bill, which is currently being debated in the House of Lords, "worked for landlords as well as tenants".

"Landlords selling up is the single biggest challenge renters face," Mr Beadle said.

Around 16% of high net worth shoppers have cut spending on luxury goods, research shows - with Burberry among the companies seemingly taking a hit.

Data from wealth management firm Saltus , which surveyed 2,000 Britons who had assets of more than £250,000, found 16.29% of respondents had cut down on their personal spending in response to the current high interest rate environment and/or the impact of the rising cost of living.

And 15.78%, said they had cut down on luxury items and designer clothes. 

Meanwhile, just 9.42% of respondents said the current environment had not impacted their lifestyle.

The figures follow data this week from designer store Burberry - which reported a 34% drop in annual operating profit.

Mike Stimpson, partner at Saltus, said high net worth individuals were having to "prioritise spending on essential costs including mortgages and supporting their families". 

"While this reduction is not limited entirely to personal spending on luxury items, it is inevitable that brands like Burberry feel the impact, although different businesses will clearly respond differently to these pressures," he said.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is hiring 2,500 "external agents" to crackdown on "benefit cheats".

The extra staff will check millions of Universal Credit claims for accuracy as part of the government's new fraud plan.

Combined with the DWP's own internal agents tackling fraud, this will take the headcount to nearly 6,000 people.

In addition to this, the DWP is introducing a new civil penalty to punish fraudsters, and investing £70m into advanced data analytics to catch those who "exploit the natural compassion and generosity of the British people".

Work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, said: "We are scaling up the fight against those stealing from the taxpayer, building on our success in stopping £18bn going into the wrong hands in 2022-23.

"With new legal powers, better data and thousands of additional staff, our comprehensive plan ensures we have the necessary tools to tackle the scourge of benefit fraud."

With the new 15 hours a week free childcare funding coming into effect this week for children aged between 9-23 months, research shows grandparents still play a key role in helping with costs.

In April, all two-year-olds from eligible working families became entitled to 15 hours free childcare each week. 

And as of this week, eligible working parents of children aged between 9-23 months are also able to apply to claim the same from September.

The government plans to increase this to 30 hours a week from September 2025.

However, grandparents still play a key role and therefore are still likely to be called upon for help from parents, according to data from the finance firm SunLife .

Data shows that half of the UK's 14 million grandparents provide childcare for their grandchildren during the working week and this rises to 55% of those with grandchildren under the age of one.

On average, the UK's grandparents spend between 22-24 hours a week providing free childcare for grandchildren under three-years-old.

So how much are grandparents saving their families and what if they were paid?

Research suggests grandparents are saving parents around £250 a week in childcare costs on average - this means that collectively, grandparents are saving their families £96bn in equivalent childcare costs every year. 

SunLife's grandparent salary calculator, which uses the average pay for the many roles grandparents are taking to calculate what their "grandparent salary" would be, has also found that if grandparents were paid for the 22 hours a week they would receive an annual salary of £13,188.

Victoria Heath, chief marketing officer at SunLife, said it was   "no wonder" one in five grandparents felt their children would struggle financially without their help.

She said research showed that 13% of grandparents felt they were relied on too much for childcare, and 14% loved doing it but felt it was too much at their age.

"Having said that, most (59%) grandparents who do provide childcare say they love helping out, so it is likely they will still play a key role, because whether they are still 'needed' or not, they are certainly still wanted, and most are more than happy to do it," Ms Heath added.

How can you apply for the 15 hours free childcare?

To apply for the funding you'll need the following: 

• National Insurance number;
• Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), if you're self-employed;
• the UK birth certificate reference number of any children you're applying for;
• the date you started or are due to start work.

Then, you'll need to go onto the gov.uk website and start an application.

It usually takes 20 minutes to apply and once your application has been approved, you'll get a code for free childcare to give to your childcare provider.

Mortgage possession actions have continued to rise and are currently above the previous year's levels, according to data from the Ministry of Justice .

The latest data shows mortgage claims, orders, warrants and repossessions have continued their gradual upward trend and claims are at their highest since 2019.

When compared to the same quarter in 2023, mortgage possession claims increased from 4,035 to 5,182 - this is a rise of 28%.

Meanwhile, mortgage orders increased from 2,532 to 3,019, warrants from 2,636 to 2,881 and repossessions by county court bailiffs from 729 to 759.

Landlord possession claims also increased from 23,389 to 24,874 when compared to the same quarter last year.

Craig Fish, director at Lodestone mortgages and protection, told Newspage things "need to change and quickly before it's too late".

"Though this data makes hard reading and is extremely worrying, it's not unexpected due to the significantly higher interest rate environment in which borrowers now find themselves," he said.

And Ben Perks, managing director at Orchard Financial Advisers, said he was "concerned these figures will continue to rise". 

He told Newspage: "The Bank of England seems totally oblivious to the plight of the average mortgage borrower, but hopefully this data will kick their hesitancy to drop the base rate firmly into touch. The time to act is now."

Tesco has recalled its sandwich pickle over fears it may contain glass.

The supermarket has pulled its 295g jars of Tesco Sandwich Pickle with the batch code 3254 and best before date of 11 September 2025 due to the concerns of glass traces.

The Food Standards Agency has said on its website: "This product may contain pieces of glass which makes it unsafe to eat."

Last year, the supermarket chain had to recall pastry products, including sausage rolls and steak and ale pies, over fears they contained pieces of metal and plastic.

A Tesco spokesperson told Sky News: "We've been made aware that a specific date/batch code of Tesco Sandwich Pickle may contain small pieces of glass. Therefore, this product could pose a safety risk if consumed.

"Please do not consume this product and instead return any affected product to store where a full refund will be given. No receipt is required.

"Tesco apologises to our customers for any inconvenience caused."

By Ed Clowes, news reporter

The FTSE 100 has remained stable out of the gate this morning after hitting a record high on Wednesday as better-than-expected inflation data in the US raised hopes of an interest rate cut in September.

It's been a busy start to the day with financial updates from BT Group, Premier Foods, Sage Group, and easyJet.

We'll start with easyJet, after the airline announced that its chief executive officer, Johan Lundgren, would step down in January 2025.

Mr Lundgren, who has served as CEO since 2017, will be replaced by the carrier's finance boss Kenton Jarvis.

In a financial update on its performance throughout the first half of the year, easyJet reported slightly higher revenues than anticipated, while cutting its losses compared to the same period last year.

The airline's share price fell by 6% in early trading this morning.

Elsewhere, telecoms giant BT said it had completed a £3bn cost-cutting programme ahead of schedule, and announced a further £3bn in planned savings by 2029.

The company told Sky News that the planned reductions in spending would not lead to more job losses, after BT announced last year that it would eliminate 55,000 roles.

Incoming boss Allison Kirkby said she wanted the business to prioritise the UK, with some analysts expecting BT to look at the futures of its Italian, Irish, and American divisions.

And last but not least, one of Europe's largest sellers of Rolex watches has said that sales in the UK are still down because some tourists don't want to buy here "due to the lack of VAT free shopping".

Nice for some.

The price of a healthy packed lunch has soared by around 45%, according to new research.

A lunch of wholemeal bread and fruit is more expensive for parents to put together than less nutritious versions with chocolate spread and crisps, The Food Foundation charity has found.

Unhealthy lunches for the research were made up of white bread with chocolate spread instead of wholemeal with cheese, flavoured yoghurt rather than a plain, unsweetened version and snacks such as crisps as opposed to the four portions of fruit and vegetables incorporated into the healthy lunch.

And when it came to the cheapest supermarket to buy a healthy packed lunch, Tesco topped the list with a weekly cost of £8.56 as of this month.

Morrisons was the most expensive retailer, with the price of a healthy packed lunch per week coming in at £11.72, although this was down slightly from £11.80 in October.

The equivalent cost at Sainsbury's was £10.47, Aldi was £10.08 and Asda was £9.18.

Research also showed the largest price rise in recent months was at Sainsbury's, where customers have to spend 9% more than they did at the start of the academic year in September (£9.61) for the same packed lunch.

Shona Goudie, policy and advocacy manager at The Food Foundation, said, the government's stringent eligibility criteria to qualify for free school meals was "leaving hundreds of thousands of children" who are living in poverty "at risk of malnutrition".

"No one should be priced out of being able to provide healthy food for their children and retailers need to do more to support families to afford the food they need," she said.

By Bhvishya Patel , Money team

We spoke to three buskers to find out what it's like performing on the street in the UK.

Amir, 29, came to UK from Pakistan with passion for music

Amir Hashmi moved to the UK in 2022 to study, said he began busking in central London 10 months ago because "music was his passion".

"In Pakistan there are many problems so I decided to leave and move to London. I feel I can do better in London than my country," he said.

He said busking was now his primary income but at times he did jobs at warehouses to get by.

"I never started this for money, I started because it is my passion but now this is my main job as well," he said.

Amir, who often performs in the capital's Piccadilly Circus or along Oxford Street, said often he returned home with just £10-15 in his pocket after a day's busking.

He said: "Many times I sleep without food and sometimes I sleep on the floor of the road when I have no shelter.

"I don't have my own place to live but I have friends who often let me stay with them. They don't charge me any rent - they look after me.

"Sometimes I do private shows for income but it's very hard because the cost of living is increasing. If I go somewhere then most of the time I prefer to walk. I walk with my speakers and carry my gear."

Despite his financial struggles, Amir said he wanted to continue performing on the street as his "goal was to make people happy".

He said: "With busking, there is no stage and you can just start performing. Whenever I am performing, I connect with the people who have come to listen. If I feel people are not enjoying it, I change the song and try and make them happy."

Earlier this year, Amir recorded a song with Neha Nazneen Shakil, a Malayalam actress from India, who approached the singer three months ago in Oxford Street.

"I wrote that song 12 years ago and after all these years my song has been recorded now in London," he added.

Jade, 24, quit retail to busk

Jade Thornton, from Amersham, started busking in 2017 with a friend after leaving college at the age of 17 and quickly realised it was something she enjoyed doing and could make a living from.

She began doing it full-time at the end of 2018 but when the pandemic hit she described becoming "unemployed overnight" and having to take up retail jobs to support herself.

"I chose not to go to university - I just thought it wasn't for me so I went straight into some part-time retail jobs," she said.

"I take my cap off to anyone who does retail - it is one of the most gruelling jobs. People who do retail don't get nearly as much respect as they deserve. 

"Some of the customers I was facing were not that kind and I thought this is making me miserable, so I just thought 'if I don't leave now then when?'"

As the global economy slowly began to recover, she decided to leave retail and pursue music full-time in 2022.

"It is hard to switch off - I do busking but I am constantly messaging clients, writing set lists and learning songs," she said.

When it came to finances, Jade said there was no average to how much she could earn but it could fluctuate from £15-100 day-to-day depending on a number of factors.

"It relies on the time of month, whether the sun is out, if people have been paid, if Christmas is on the way or if Christmas has just passed," she explained.

The musician said she did struggle initially when she began busking but her parents were always supportive.

She said: "You obviously get a few questions from people asking 'are you sure you want to quit your job and sing on the street?'

"I lived at home for a long time and I'm grateful my parents could support me in that way because I know not everyone has that opportunity."

While performing outdoors is now Jade's full-time job, she said some months were more difficult to make money than others.

"If I'm being brutally honest in months like January and February it would be super difficult. This year I had enough gigs in December to cover me for January," she said.

"Last year from June-July and December I did not have to go busking because I got so many gigs through busking. I'm part of a lot of online agencies and I also do lots of pub gigs, weddings, birthdays and other events."

Jade noted though that the cost of living crisis had made things harder.

She said: "A few pub gigs I've had have been cancelled because they've had to rethink their strategies but if somebody cancels then I can just go out busking. There has been a slight dent when it comes to finances but that's from COVID as well - with COVID I was unemployed overnight."

The young musician went on to say she was "very grateful" when somebody did tip her and even small gestures like sitting, listening or just a smile were "currencies in themselves".

"It's escapism for me as a singer and then it's escapism for the audience as well," she added.

"Children also have such a great time listening to buskers and some may not have an opportunity for many reasons to go and see live music so if they can come across it in the street and that can spark something that's a wonderful thing to think I'm a little part of that."

Charlotte, 34, long-time busker

Charlotte Campbell, 34, who usually busks along the Southbank or in the London Underground, said she started busking during the 2012 London Olympics and while "busking used to be enough", more recently she has had to take on more gigs in the evening.

"A typical day is usually busking until around 6pm and then a gig in the evening - 8pm onwards," she said.

"I could still probably make a living from busking but I've taken on more paid gigs since the pandemic because everything became so uncertain. I think that uncertainty has just carried through now - that seems to be the way of life now."

The musician said tips for her CDs, which she puts on display during her performances, ranged between £5-10 and in the current cashless climate a card reader was "essential".

She said she pre-sets her card reader to £3 when playing on the Southbank and £2 when busking inside the London Underground "because people are rushing".

While she described her earnings as a "trade secret", she said the busker income had "definitely gone down" but this was due to a few factors - the pandemic, people carrying less cash and the cost of living crisis.

"Also, a lots of pitches have closed which means there are a lot more buskers trying to compete for one spot so all of those things have impacted my living as a busker," she said.

"I would say even though my income is primarily from busking I have had to subsidise it with more paid gigs than before. I just haven't felt as secure in my living from busking in the last couple of years.

"Most of the gigs I have are booked by people who have seen me busking so indirectly busking is my entire career- if I don't busk I wouldn't get the gigs I play in the evening. So directly and indirectly busking is my entire income."

In spite of uncertainty, she said it was freeing to be able to go out and perform for people in an intimate way.

"You are not up on a stage and there is no separation between you and them.  It's a really great connection you can make - I want to be able to hold onto that," she added.

Every Thursday  Savings Champion founder Anna Bowes  gives us an insight into the savings market and how to make the most of your money. Today she's focusing on children's accounts...

While the rates on adult savings accounts have risen and fallen over the course of 2024, the top rates on accounts for children have remained stable - but are pretty competitive once again, as other account rates have started to fall. 

And there are plenty of different types of savings accounts to choose from, from the tax free Junior ISA, to children's regular savings accounts, fixed term bonds and easy access accounts.

Those who are able to start saving for their children early, could significantly improve their financial health in the future – especially when taking compounding interest into consideration.

If you were to save £50 a month from birth, you could give them a gift of more than £17,250 at age 18, assuming a tax-free interest rate of 4.95% - which is currently the top Junior ISA rate available.

If you, your friends and family were able to gift a total of £9,000 a year to a child (the current Junior ISA allowance), at the same rate, you could give them almost £265,000 when they reach 18. 

Now that's a gift worth having!

Children have their own personal allowance, so for the majority there will be no tax to pay on their savings interest. 

However, parents should be aware that there may be a tax liability to themselves on the interest earned on any money they gift to their children, until they reach the age of 18. 

If the gross interest earned is less than £100 for each parent's gift, it will be treated as the child’s under a 'de minimis' rule. 

This means that provided the interest earned does not make the child a taxpayer, they will be able to offset this against their personal tax allowance, so it will often be free of tax. 

But if the interest is more than £100 for each parent's gift, then it will be treated as that parent’s interest for tax purposes and therefore they may need to pay tax at their marginal rate - if it takes them above their Personal Allowance and/or Personal Savings Allowance.

Gifts from any other family members or friends will not be viewed in the same way. Instead, any interest earned will be treated as belonging to the child themselves and therefore can be earned tax free if they are non-taxpayers.

The exception to this rule is on funds deposited into a JISA, Child Trust Fund or NS&I Premium Bonds.  The returns from these are tax free for all.

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Moondrop Space Travel TWS Earphone Bluetooth 5.3 Noise Canceling True Wireless Stereo IEMs(Black)

Purchase options and add-ons, about this item.

• Ergonomically Comfortable Shallow Ear Fit: SPACE TRAVEL offers a shallow ear fit that is more comfortable than standard in-ear headphones, and can be used by users with small ear canals.
• Automatic Reconnection Seamless Switching between Monaural-Binaural: SPACE TRAVEL supports automatic reconnection and seamless switching between monaural and binaural modes. It will reconnect to the paired device as long as one or both of the earpieces are removed from the charging case. Using mirror image technology, it will remain connected to the paired device even when one or both earpieces are returned to the charging case.
• Bass Control, Easy Switching of Three Bass Tunings: Using the MOONDROP Link APP, users can select one of three bass tunings, "Monitor", "Reference" and "Basshead".
• 55ms Low-latency Game Mode,Music/Game Mode Switching: SPACE TRAVEL allows easy switching of dual connection modes. In addition to the music mode, users can switch to game mode by tapping the touch faceplate four times. In game mode, the signal transmission delay is as low as 55ms, providing a more comfortable game experience 2. [2] The 55ms delay is the official specification of the SOC chip, and may differ according to environmental interference and connected equipment.
• Single Feedforward with Lossless Sound Quality,35dB Depth Wide-band ANC: In order to achieve deep noise cancelation, most ANC TWS on the market adopt a hybrid feedforward-feedback scheme. However, the noise collected by the feedback microphone in the front cavity can cause loss of bass, and an extra filter is often used for active compensation. SPACE TRAVEL abandons feedback noise cancelation, adopting a single feedforward solution that is more difficult to adjust.

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Product Description

SPACE TRAVEL

Space Fantasy Theme

Humanity has always dreamed of SPACE TRAVEL and journeying to the stars.

We still have a long way to go, but we continue to dream of SPACE TRAVEL.

Even though our feet may be firmly on the ground,we can give expression to our space fantasies in the products we use.

13mm Enhanced Dynamic Driver with Titanium Dome Composite Diaphragm

• The performance of the dynamic driver is the basis of earphone sound quality, in the same way that the engine is the basis of car performance.
• In TWS it is not practical to improve sound quality by multiplying the number of drivers while at the same time limiting power consumption. It makes no sense to add additional balanced armature or planar drivers to handle the treble frequencies. Upgrading a large dynamic driver is the most effective way to improve performance within the available limits.
• The 13mm dynamic driver consists of a composite flexible suspension diaphragm with a titanium-plated dome, offering excellent treble extension and fine detail, with exceptional bass and superior low distortion.
• The optimized driver unit is composed of an imported CCAW voice coil and a N52 magnetic assembly that delivers a more rapid response and a more consistent dynamic timbre.

Single Feedforward with Lossless Sound Quality 35dB Depth Wide-band ANC

• In order to achieve deep noise cancelation, most ANC TWS on the market adopt a hybrid feedforward-feedback scheme. However, the noise collected by the feedback microphone in the front cavity can cause loss of bass, and an extra filter is often used for active compensation.
• SPACE TRAVEL abandons feedback noise cancelation, adopting a single feedforward solution that is more difficult to adjust.
• After repeated tuning and careful adjustment by skilled acoustic engineers, the combination of updated software and a new domestic SOC chip with stronger computing power achieves a noise reduction depth of 35dB and broadband ANC with a 3kHz bandwidth, without any negative effect on the playback sound quality of TWS.

Product Information

From the brand.

The MOONDROP corporate philosophy is “Constant innovation based on science and technology, and the improvement of services for the benefit of the consumer." The company is committed to breaking through the technical barriers of the industry, applying advanced technology to electronic audio equipment, and integrating high-quality audio systems into smart wearable devices.

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• USB-C Charging Cable

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Customer Review: Great price, grear bass, very unique, funny voice prompts

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Moondrop Space Earphones with Noise Canceling

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Product information, warranty & support, customer reviews.

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers like the appearance, sound quality, and weight of the headphones. For example, they mention that they look cool, the color scheme looks nice, and that the ANC does a good job of mitigating droning sounds. That said, some complain about the ease of removal. Opinions are mixed on quality and battery life.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers like the sound quality of the headphones. They mention that they sound absolutely wonderful, the clarity is good, and the ANC does a good job of mitigating droning sounds. They like that the volume gets loud enough, and that the touch controls work well. They also appreciate the 3 preset tunings and the active noise cancelling.

"...Audio:These have 3 preset tunings . The "reference" tuning is PLEASING, with an overall WARM signature, with CLEAR AND PRESENT BASS...." Read more

"...I also really enjoy the normal mode a lot, it's a great balance between listening to music but still having some idea of your surroundings.*..." Read more

"...The ANC does a good job of mitigating droning sounds , and makes blenders tolerable (though maybe not that much more than passive), definitely not as..." Read more

"...Great range and connectivity, even through walls Decent active noise cancelling Case is beautifulHaptic controls are responsive..." Read more

Customers like the value of the headphones. They mention that they are pretty good for the price, with an amazing price/performance ratio. Some say that the earbuds feel budget but sound great.

"...The price was cheap enough and the reviews seemed to praise it a decent bit so, why not?And you know what?..." Read more

"...higher frequencies but it is better than nothing, and decent enough for the pricepoint . Overall, comfortable, sound amazing, ANC is decent...." Read more

"...Pros:* Budget friendly , at 25usd it's a steal* Unique design. I love the look of it, but your opinion might vary*..." Read more

"...Case is beautifulHaptic controls are responsive Great value Cons..." Read more

Customers like the appearance of the headphones. They mention it's cool looking, has a unique design, and has s nice color scheme.

"...They look cool . The plastics are of nice quality, though the case and headphones feel light. But what is lacking is the usability...." Read more

"...Overall, comfortable, sound amazing, ANC is decent. Plus the case design is cool as hell and secures the earbuds better than other topless 20buckish..." Read more

"...Pros:* Budget friendly, at 25usd it's a steal* Unique design . I love the look of it, but your opinion might vary*..." Read more

"...Decent active noise cancelling Case is beautiful Haptic controls are responsiveGreat valueCons..." Read more

Customers like the comfort of the headphones. They mention that they're comfortable enough that they would have no problem wearing them for several hours. The earbuds themselves feel matte and light, making them easy to handle. They fit lightly but tightly, and the mids and highs feel pretty on point. The small form factor is great, and they say the monitors are large enough to readjust without accidentally hitting the touch controls.

"...The monitors are LARGE ENOUGH TO READJUST WITHOUT ACCIDENTALLY HITTING THE TOUCH CONTROLS, which is incredibly rare in this sort of cheap tws..." Read more

"...The comfort is perfect for me , they're light, controls and gestures are simple...." Read more

"...The foam tips and seating are the most comfortable design so far. This is the reason I love this so much...." Read more

"...Otherwise, they sound fantastic. They aren't the most comfortable (hopefully switching tips will help), but they aren't falling out of my ear..." Read more

Customers like the weight of the headphones. They say they're light, but feel tinny and cheap.

"...The plastics are of nice quality, though the case and headphones feel light . But what is lacking is the usability...." Read more

"...The comfort is perfect for me, they're light , controls and gestures are simple...." Read more

"...They are comfortable and fit nicely in my ears, lightweight and they don't feel like they are going to fall out (particularly when smiling)...." Read more

"... Feels a bit lighter compared to my JBL Tune 230- Has anime girl voice for switching modes instead of beeps" Read more

Customers are mixed about the quality of the headphones. Some mention that they have great sound, good comfort, and decent noise cancelling. However, others say that the ANC is mediocre, making a small difference, and not super effective.

"...They are SLIGHTLY SENSITIVE, and provide NO HAPTIC FEEDBACK. They work , do as they say, and are reprogrammable through the Moondrop Link app...." Read more

"...They look cool. The plastics are of nice quality , though the case and headphones feel light. But what is lacking is the usability...." Read more

"...anyway, this one is just extra sensitive to the finger, or too hard to use intentionally due to delay and the sharp edges and there's no in ear..." Read more

"...The ANC is useful somewhat as it removes the background noise of air conditioning and other midrange stuff, it doesn't cancel higher frequencies but..." Read more

Customers are mixed about the battery life of the headphones. Some mention that they sound good and last a while, have fairly OK battery life, and hold up pretty well. The case has solid construction, and the magnetism on the charging contacts is strong. However, some customers say that the noise cancellation is terrible and half-baked, and that the battery lasts barely any time with ANC on.

"...The case has solid construction , and the magnetism on the charging contacts is excellent.Additional Features:..." Read more

"...What sucks is that when set to Max volume they only last like 2 and a Half hours but if you set them to 50% they last like 5 hours playing." Read more

"...The charging seems pretty fast. The battery life themselves seems okay or a little better than okay...." Read more

"...Only this I wish for this headphones is battery life ...." Read more

Customers find the headphones difficult to remove from the case. They mention that it's difficult to slide out of the case, and it'll slip out of their fingers.

"...bit narrow and the magnets a bit strong, so they tend to just slip out of my fingers every time I try to remove it...." Read more

"...(both because I'm clumsy and because it's so easy for it to just fall out )...." Read more

"...dumb that it has to be on its side to charge, and it's not intuitive to slide the earbuds into / out of...." Read more

"...You could definitely do a lot worse. Only downside is they buds can fall out easily but I don't carry these ones around so I'm not worried about it." Read more

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