International Space Station

Future Hilton Hotels

In 1998, the Hilton organization announced their plans of a possible construction of a couple of hotels. These two will be like the usual Hilton hotels we see in the streets of London or Paris --- except that it won't be built on Earth. While the Orbiting Hilton will be located on Earth's orbit, free in space, the 100-room Lunar Hilton will be built below the moon's surface.

The above statement is true. Setting up hotels on the moon and in space is currently under studies. That's a long leap from Armstrong's first step on the moon almost half a century ago. If you believe that the idea of Space Hiltons is absurd, then you should first focus on the present and not the future.

The International Space Station

Today, the International Space Station (ISS) is being assembled in space. The construction of this on-orbit research facility started in 1998. This space station is set in a low Earth orbit, allowing people on the ground to see it with the naked eye. Located 350-460 km above the surface of the planet, it travels at a speed of 27,700 km per hour. It completes 15.77 orbits a day.

The ISS is a collaboration among the space agencies of Russia (RKA), United States (NASA), Canada (CSA), Japan (JAXA) and numerous European nations (ESA). Also, Brazil participates through a contract with NASA, while Italy has separate contracts for several activities outside the ESA's framework. China has also expressed interest in this project but is still not currently involved.

The projected date of completion of the project is 2010. It has been continuously inhabited since November 2, 2000, when the first resident crew stepped into the station, providing a permanent presence of human in space. It is primarily serviced by US Space Shuttle orbiters and by Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. The station has been visited by astronauts from 15 different countries and five space tourists.

Back to the Future

Once the ISS is completed, it will surely inspire other construction projects in space. Again, there have been five space tourists who visited the ISS. They went there just for fun (Oh yeah, some people are just that wealthy). As space technology advances, humans will have more means of having access to outer space. When that happens, a single space station might not be enough to contain all space tourists. Space Hiltons can be possible and feasible after all.