The next big step in expanding human presence into the solar system will be taken by exploration and science crews on the Moon and Mars. Built upon the technology foundation of Space Station Freedom, this ambitious undertaking will advance the state of our space faring technology. Beneficiaries will include both terrestrial and space borne industries. By learning as they go, exploration pioneers will pave the way for subsequent steps, including the most far-reaching one of all: enabling large numbers of ordinary people to visit live and work in space. Inevitably, the place where this transformation will start is low Earth orbit Leo.

Leo is physically close to home, and cheaper to get to than anywhere else in space. Leo is therefore a prime location to conduct space life science research, to develop new or improved materials and processes in microgravity and hard vacuum, to study the geology, climate and biosphere of Earth, to operate astronomical observatories without atmospheric interference, and to assemble large vehicles for interplanetary exploration. Indeed, various governments and some companies are doing or planning all these things.
Providing such a unique transformational opportunity for large numbers of people is the surest way to bring the far-reaching benefits of a space overview back down to Earth. And because of the sheer experiential power of a trip to Leo -- the ride, the view, the novelty, the risk, the exhilaration -- providing that opportunity should prove profitable as well.

The reason that we do not already have large numbers of space travelers has little to do with technology availability, nor even with the risks of using the technologies we have. Rather, it is the prohibitive cost, which so far allows only governments to fly people into space. Although we are beginning to see sponsored crew participation in government flights, the fees charged recover neither the infrastructure investment costs nor the system operations costs allocatable to that individual. In figuring the cost of a basic tour package, we must include the cost of the passage, the amortized cost of the orbital hotel facilities, the cost of hotel operations, and profit. We begin with the passage. Assume that an average traveler's weight allocation (person and luggage) totals 200 lbs (mass = 91 kg). Assume now for a commercial enterprise (analogous to airlines) that the cost of amortizing the re-usable vehicle fleet roughly equals the operations cost per launch. To capture fleet amortization and launch operations, we estimate the burdened cost of a passenger flight ticket at $200,000.

Next is the hotel operations cost. Operations include hotel guest services (including meals), insurance, and maintenance, supplies and staff compensation. A larger hotel would be able to enjoy a more economical staff/guest ratio. Staff compensation could probably be limited to health and retirement benefits, avoiding salary per se because of the likely extreme competition for job openings. The annual cost to launch an additional 10% of the total hotel mass (for supplies, spares and growth), using our standard rate, would be only $25M. Let us assume a total operations cost about four times higher, about $110M/yr. This result reasonably in a cost per tourist ticket for operations equal to the ticket's share of capital amortization: $130,000.

Accommodations - Stateroom accommodations aboard Hotel Leo offer visual and acoustic privacy, with comfort and service very different from, but equivalent to, Earth's finest luxury resorts and appropriate for orbital conditions. Both the physical setting and activities onboard Hotel Leo are unique, enhancing guests' appreciation of their novel experience. Rooms are arranged with volume, rather than floor space, in mind. A stateroom for two can be only a fraction as large as on Earth, since walls, ceilings and floors lose their familiar meaning. Beds in orbital microgravity no longer support the users weight, but merely restrain them from floating about the suite in the forced-air currents while asleep. Consequently, orbital beds are more like padded alcoves, functioning also as chair and couch, adaptable for the activity intended by reconfiguring restraint cushions. All furnishings are well-crafted, but extremely lightweight, made of aerospace materials and efficiently stowable. Each guest suite is equipped with built-in telecommunications and entertainment media, and stowage provisions for personal effects. Wall surfaces, padded for comfort and safety with high-quality, non-flammable fabrics in a variety of colors and textures, are studded periodically with mobility handles and restraint aids. The focal point of each suite is its own Earth-facing window, equipped with a shutter for sleep periods and surrounded by arm and leg restraints for comfortable, long-term viewing. This quintessential feature of Hotel Leo gives an otherworldly and unforgettable meaning to the expression "a room with a view".

Activities - Hotel Leo does its best to accommodate the desire of its guests to experience fully the adventure and beauty that astronauts and cosmonauts alone knew for decades. Weightlessness, the view of Earth below, the black void of space, and even the everyday acts of eating and washing up, are new experiences in space, and are in fact the primary reason most want to make this trip. But the hotel also provides activities to let large groups of space travelers function socially. As resorts on earth typically sponsor structured schedules of events that allow people to come together, so does Hotel Leo. The hotel provides a large, open volume for scheduled group events like concerts, theater, dance, microgravity athletic competitions, and conference meetings, all of which can be interactively tele-videoed with the ground. In this way, not only can the experience of working in space be shared with those on Earth, but so can the experience of actually living there. Major social spaces such as dining areas and lounges have Earth-facing windows much larger than those in the staterooms. There is room to have dinner, share a drink with a friend, or listening to a live musical performance while the Himalayas, Indonesia and South America pass below, are surely some of the most memorable experiences available to 21st century travelers. Also popular, however, are the out-facing observation lounges, equipped with computer-aimed telescopes for seeing the Sun, Earth's Moon, and the strikingly bright, steady lights of other planets and myriad stars.

Resort hotels to support extended stays in low Earth orbit are technically feasible using technology being developed now by the U.S. Space Program. Their economic practicality as commercial ventures appears achievable eventually, although the first generation of such resorts will necessarily cater to the very wealthy. Subsequent market growth would allow reduced rates, resulting in expanding access for more people. Large hotels can benefit from economy of scale, but represent substantial capital investments probably revising the pooling of many entrepreneurial resources. Much room for innovation exists in designing ways to adapt emergent space hardware systems to take cost-effective advantage of unique orbital conditions for the purpose of hosting ordinary people in Hotel Leo. The extensive variety of activities available to space travelers on multi-week visits into Earth orbit can be turned to advantage in developing successful, profitable resort ventures.