Author Topic: 3 billion dollar space hotel  (Read 8301 times)

Offline grakenverb

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3 billion dollar space hotel
« on: 08/11/2007 01:08 pm »
First I've seen of this plan........  does anyone know anything about it?

"investor has ponied up most of $3 billion"?????


http://www.nypost.com/seven/08112007/news/worldnews/lost_in_space_worldnews_eric_lenkowitz__post_wire_services.htm



http://www.galacticsuite.com/

Offline hyper_snyper

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Re: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #1 on: 08/11/2007 01:59 pm »
The more the merrier I say.

But are they building the spacecraft as well?  That's a mistake.  From the looks of it it's some sort of hybrid rocket RLV that actually looks a bit like the shuttle.  Its development will eat through $3 billion pretty fast.  They should do what Bigelow is doing.  Stick to the orbital facilities and let others cover transport.

Offline grakenverb

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RE: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #2 on: 08/11/2007 02:10 pm »
more info here...........  Spanish and US company, funding by UAE and Japanese



http://www.galacticsuiteprocess.com/news/

Offline ApolloLee

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RE: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #3 on: 08/11/2007 03:06 pm »
Quote
grakenverb - 11/8/2007  6:08 AM

First I've seen of this plan........  does anyone know anything about it?

"investor has ponied up most of $3 billion"?????


/

Smells like vaporware to me....

I'm surprised how much play this story is getting considering how little evidence there is that this is little more than someone's joke design project for fun. Especially when there is another, more legitimate company like Bigelow Aerospace that also intends on having a private space station by 2012 but can back that up with TWO test modules actually in space and actually has a manufacturing facility.

I mean, the reporter takes their word for it when they say some American who they can't name is giving them $3 billion. I figure I could got to the same reporter and say someone is giving me a couple billion to build the world's biggest saussage and it will make the headlines the next day.

Not sure how much competition to Bigelow they really are, and I also have doubts about their $3 billion funding figure. I think we need more proof than their word.

Bigelow has:

- A manufacturing plans currently building the modules for its stations

- A corporate structure

- Two test modules currently in space

- A concrete business plan

- More than 100 employees

Galactic Suite has:

- A Web site with nice illustrations. Though its strange title font looks like it was done in Microsoft Paint.

This seems like little more than a nice Web site and fancy illustrations. Galactic Suite also seems to indicate it would use the Space Shuttle for construction, which would be news to NASA, which plans to put the orbiters in the Smithsonian by 2010.

Seems like more vaporware to me. I'd rather put my money on Bigelow to build the first private space station.

Bigelow put up some cool, REAL pictures from space on this page: http://bigelowaerospace.com/out_there/view_photos.php.

Offline publiusr

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Re: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #4 on: 08/11/2007 04:20 pm »
Gene Meyers of Space Island Group is focusing on SPSS these days--something more needed these days.

The actual space hotel illustrated here in this site shouldn't cost three billion--though that RLV might cost more. Unless it involves the return to the Energiya, in which all the 'heavy-lifing' is done by Energia and what you see there is a simple Buran. Otherwise the whole craft would be filled with tankage and not passengers.

Offline MKremer

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Re: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #5 on: 08/12/2007 03:50 am »
At the present time, this whole thing sounds like either vaporware, a giant scam, or both... or hired media PR that still doesn't understand the details of a planned development.

Why wouldn't they contract with Bigelow to design their 'hotel' and docking systems - Bigelow is the only company that has any chance of achieving that type of design within a reasonable time period (not to mention budgets) without totally starting a design/testing/construction/more testing+even more testing program totally from scratch.

Not to mention there's no details about any launch and orbital vehicles. It all is currently very confusing.

Offline Solo

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Re: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #6 on: 08/12/2007 03:18 pm »
Besides, they quoted $4mn for a 3-day stay, but there's no transport that can get a person and cargo up for that little.  Even Musk's Falcon 1 costs $6mn!

Offline Norm Hartnett

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Re: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #7 on: 08/12/2007 03:46 pm »
Is there the possibility that they are talking about using Bigelow modules? There is a resemblence to them and one of the shots of the "shuttle" docked looks somewhat like a lifting body RLV rather than the standard STS/Buran could that be the LockMart ship that Bigelow/Lockmart are discussing?
“You can’t take a traditional approach and expect anything but the traditional results, which has been broken budgets and not fielding any flight hardware.” Mike Gold - Apollo, STS, CxP; those that don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it: SLS.

Offline Comga

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RE: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #8 on: 08/13/2007 04:25 am »
This one does not pass the sniff test.  

"Around the World in 80 Minutes".  A cute take-off on the Jules Verne novel (and the Jackie Chan movie) but not terribly accurate.  (An 80 minute orbit has negative altitude at perigee.) Then they go on to say that one would see 15 sunsets a day.  That's a 96 minute orbit and pretty high.  In short, they aren't bothering with any details.

They have cute (or crude) illustrations of the little space plane coming out of the clouds without its booster, and without external tanks.  That is not possible with any conceivably practical fuel.  Then there are no solar panels on the station.  Where do they get their power?  Then they are going to build two, count them two, artificial runways like Kansai airport, which cost billions and utilized a full scale infrastructure from mainland Japan.  Where would they get the landfill?  And why two runways?  Even KSC has only one.  The rocket ship has jet engines, which will sit in space for the duration of the stay and then be used for what?  A go-around? That is not clear either.  And what island is that?  Remember the trouble Andrew Beal had trying to get permission to launch from a defunct Caribbean potash mine of an island?

And then the financier.  The billionaires we know of who are in the business, Paul Allen, Jeff Bezos, etc, are all being pretty cautious with their fortunes.  You could probably make a short list of the Americans who could actually pony up $3B, and eliminate them one by one.

What I don't get is why they would bother?  Who has the time to create these little drawings and make up a web site like this, other than a student?  What can they gain?
What kind of wastrels would dump a perfectly good booster in the ocean after just one use?

Offline mr.columbus

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RE: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #9 on: 08/13/2007 05:59 am »
Quote
Comga - 13/8/2007  12:25 AM

What I don't get is why they would bother?  Who has the time to create these little drawings and make up a web site like this, other than a student?  What can they gain?

They just probably want a bit of attention like most people. The fact remains, as you and many others have pointed out, this is whole thing is a fake, no doubt.

Offline Mogster

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Re: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #10 on: 08/13/2007 12:47 pm »
This story seems to have made all the national papers in the UK, even the broadsheets.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/08/12/scihotel112.xml

Seems to me that none of them have anyone capable of casting a critical eye over this sort of aerospace/technology story. Any 10 year old interested in space technology could tell them this looks very bogus, sad.

Offline nacnud

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Re: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #11 on: 08/13/2007 03:18 pm »
This is an 'in other news' story, something light to finish the bulletin on. I doubt that any of the papers take it seriously.

Offline halkey

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RE: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #12 on: 08/13/2007 04:26 pm »
Quote
They have cute (or crude) illustrations of the little space plane coming out of the clouds without its booster, and without external tanks. That is not possible with any conceivably practical fuel.

Apparently you haven't heard that the private investor has also funded the development of an orbital anti-matter production facility which will create fuel for these little ships that you mock.  Oh ye of little faith!

Offline PurduesUSAFguy

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Re: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #13 on: 08/13/2007 04:57 pm »
My reaction to this is the same as my reaction the first time I read about 'Rotary Rockets', which is to say, I'll believe it when I see it.

If they were planning on purchasing hardware from Bigelow and operating it, then I would be a little bit more willing to believe it, but given what they have presented I'm not impressed at all.

Offline ericr

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Re: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #14 on: 08/13/2007 05:40 pm »
Excepting there is zero reason for Bigelow to sell technology to a competitor at this point.

Offline MKremer

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Re: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #15 on: 08/13/2007 05:42 pm »
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ericr - 13/8/2007  12:40 PM

Excepting there is zero reason for Bigelow to sell technology to a competitor at this point.

He could easily rent or lease it, though. Their customers would never know the difference.

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Re: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #16 on: 08/13/2007 06:12 pm »
How can you NOT believe this NY Post story?  It's from the same people who bring you Fox News.  ;)

Offline ApolloLee

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RE: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #17 on: 08/14/2007 07:34 pm »
Quote
halkey - 13/8/2007  9:26 AM


Apparently you haven't heard that the private investor has also funded the development of an orbital anti-matter production facility which will create fuel for these little ships that you mock.  Oh ye of little faith!

Are they working on the photon torpedos and warp engines as well?

Offline Namechange User

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Re: 3 billion dollar space hotel
« Reply #18 on: 08/14/2007 07:46 pm »
These pictures on this webpage seem to just show the "modules" thrown together in some random order.  It looks like something my 1 year old daughter would design.  How's it controlled, where's the power come from, how is it cooled, etc.  

This is a joke, their main website isn't even working yet.....
Enjoying viewing the forum a little better now by filtering certain users.

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