When it comes to holidays, many of us book our next stay based on various factors. Things like where the hotel is, whether room rates are good value, how many swimming pools there are and what the food is like. But guests considering a stay at the Aurora Station will have to decide whether the hotel’s location, 200 miles above Earth, makes it the right pick for them.
Booked out for the first four months after its proposed opening date in 2023, the luxury space hotel has seen bookings roll in from the Middle East, North America and Europe. Each of these early birds has paid an $80,000 deposit to secure a slot on the 12-day holiday but the total cost will be $9.5 million per person.
The hotel is being developed by US-based space technology start-up Orion Span and progress has already started on the station which will be 14 metres in length. When complete, it will be able to accommodate four guests at a time, plus two space crew members.
Spectacular views
Once checked-in passengers will witness no less than 16 sunsets and sunrises during the 12-day vacation with the vessel set to lap around the planet every 90 minutes. Giant portholes will give space tourists otherworldly vistas to gaze out at, including spectacular views of the northern and southern lights.
Gourmet food will be on the menu as the company plans to partner with chefs and restaurants to develop space food that’s as tasty as the limited cooking facilities will allow. Specially-developed Aurora Station Space grape beverage will be served with dinner. Post-dinner naps will take place in sleekly designed sleeping pods.
Pre-holiday prep
In order to prepare for the trip, would-be guests first need to undergo a training programme where they’ll prepare for showering, eating and sleeping in a zero-gravity environment. Once on board, they’ll take part in daily training sessions and have the opportunity to get involved in space-related research projects. And while there will be no gravity on board, there will be no complaints about the Wi-Fi which will be unlimited.
The project was first announced in 2018, but earlier this month the first interior renderings were released, edging the project a step closer to competition.
A $50,000 flat-rate commission for travel agents booking customers on the trip has led to a sustained interest in the destination from travel professionals.
Raising funds
Orion Span listed the project on crowdfunding platform Seed Invest earlier this month in a bid to seek funds to help advance design work, begin prototyping and expand the company’s staff base. Potential investors were informed that they could own a piece of the space tourism industry, which is expected to reach $1.27 billion by 2023 when the International Space Station (ISS) will retire.
Nasa has encouraged private companies to prepare to take over the vacuum that will be left by the closure of the ISS after its 34 years in orbit. This will allow the agency to focus its efforts on further space exploration.
As well as functioning as a hotel, Aurora Station will also serve as a host for space manufacturing and government projects.
While progress continues on the project, the company has not yet announced its launch provider meaning the world's first luxury space hotel still has a giant leap to conquer before it opens its doors to holidaymakers.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994
- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009
- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888
- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GROUPS AND FIXTURES
Group A
UAE, Italy, Japan, Spain
Group B
Egypt, Iran, Mexico, Russia
Tuesday
4.15pm: Italy v Japan
5.30pm: Spain v UAE
6.45pm: Egypt v Russia
8pm: Iran v Mexico
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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