Until American companies start launching private spaceships, Russian-built space capsules will be the only way to get astronauts up to the International Space Station or other orbital outposts. If these images are accurate at all, Russian-built spacecraft might as well stay the only option.

Future space tourists will have some pretty nice digs in Orbital Technologies’ space hotels. The pods are supposed to launch by 2016, offering space for wealthy travelers or private companies who want to do microgravity research. Just like our own astronauts nowadays, visitors will reach the pods on Russian Soyuz rockets.

Unlike the space station pods designed by Bigelow Aerospace, which the company insists are not space hotels, these pointy pods are certainly meant for leisure travelers. Visitors can choose vertical or horizontal beds, actual food prepared on Earth and reheated in microwaves, and sealed showers with running water, as opposed to the sponge baths currently employed by ISS residents. A five-day stay will cost about $165,000.

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http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-08/luxury-getaways-future-visit-orbital-technologies-space-hotel