London: A Russian company has unveiled an ambitious plan to launch a 'space hotel' in orbit 217 miles up which would have huge windows for views of the Earth turning below.
A five-day stay in the hotel, which would house seven guests in four cabins, would cost 100,000 pounds, on top of 500,000 pounds for journey, the Daily Mail reports.
Orbital Technologies, firm will construct the hotel, has claimed that it will be 'far more comfortable' than the International Space Station used by astronauts and cosmonauts.
In the weightlessness of space, visitors can choose to have beds that are either vertical or horizontal.
Tourists, who will be accompanied by experienced crew, will dine on food prepared on Earth and sent up on the rocket, to be reheated in microwave ovens, the paper said.
The freeze-dried tubes of nourishment given to astronauts would be replaced by delicacies such as braised veal cheeks with wild mushrooms, white bean puree, potato soup and plum compote.
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.
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 is alo underway, the paper said.
The hotel, or the Commercial Space Station is due to open by 2016.
ANI
First Published: Wednesday, August 17, 2011, 19:15