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Russian Space Hotel to open by 2016

Updated: 2011-08-26 By

• Orbital Technologies has revealed plans for a space hotel, which could be open by 2016.

  
  
  

  Russia Monday announced plans for a hotel in orbit 217 miles up which would house 7 guests in 4 cabins and have huge windows for views of the Earth turning below.

  A 5-day stay will cost ?100,000, on top of ?500,000 for the journey.

  The space hotel is due to open by 2016 and will be "far more comfortable" than the International Space Station.

  Visitors can choose to have beds that are either vertical or horizontal, while showers will be sealed affairs to stop water going where it shouldn't.

  Tourists, who will be accompanied by experienced crew, will dine on food prepared on Earth.

  Iced tea, mineral water and fruit juices will be available, but alcohol will be strictly prohibited. Toilets will use flowing air instead of water to move waste through the system.

  Waste water will be recycled, while the air will be filtered to remove odour and bacteria and then returned to the cabin.

  Tourists might also find themselves playing host to unexpected guests – there is a plan for the hotel to be used as an emergency bolthole for astronauts aboard the International Space Station if there is a crisis, rather than bringing them all the way back to Earth.

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