Guests Will See 15 Sunrises A Day, Orbit Earth Every 90 Minutes

We all knew it would happen sooner or later. The first hotel in space is set to open for business in 2012. Galactic Suite will also be the most expensive on Earth -- costing each guest $4 million for a three-night stay, according to Reuters.

For that price tag, guests will be treated to a spectacular sunrise, 15 times a day. They'll get to use Velcro suits to get around their suites by sticking to the walls, and bathe in floating bubbles of water.

"It's the bathrooms in zero gravity that are the biggest challenge," says company director Xavier Claramunt. "How to accommodate the more intimate activities of the guests is not easy."

The pricetag includes not only the three-night stay in space, but also eight weeks of intensive training at a luxurious space camp on a tropical island, according to the company.

In addition to the space hotel, Galactic Suite Project is also planning the hotel complex on a Caribbean island that will accommodate the tourists, as well as the spacecraft that will transport the "space suites".

The company is even preparing for their pioneering guests' misgivings about space travel.

"There is fear associated with going into space," said Claramunt. "That's why the shuttle rocket will remain fixed to the space hotel for the duration of the guests' stay, so they know they can get home again."

Guests will also participate in scientific experiments on space travel.

Claramunt won't discuss exactly who his initial backer was that fronted most of the $3 billion needed to make the former aerospace engineer's dream a reality. And an unidentified American company bent on colonizing Mars sees Galaxy Suite as a first step and has joined the swelling financial-backer ranks. Private investors from the US, Japan and United Arab Emirates are discussing their options, too.

The hotel's pod structure resembles a molecule model because each pod has to fit inside a rocket to be launched into space. The Barcelona-based company is aiming to develop an "orbital hotel chain" with modular space accommodation based on the natural growth of a grapevine.

The chain will orbit the Earth at an altitude of 300 miles.

Even though climate change is permeating today's society, the company doesn't have any current plans to offset any pollution created by launching a rocket into space carrying only six passengers just for a weekend vacation.

"But, I'm hopeful that the impact of seeing the earth from a distance will stimulate the guests' urge to value and protect our planet," said Claramunt.

Although the price tag may seem a bit steep, the company isn't worried their clientele may be limited.

"We have calculated that there are 40,000 people in the world who could afford to stay at the hotel. Whether they will want to spend money on going into space, we just don't know," said Claramunt.

FMI: www.galacticsuite.com