Bigelow Aerospace
Commercial Spaceflight Update... Yesterday, SpaceX announced a partnership with Bigelow Aerospace that would involve SpaceX launching paying passengers aboard its Falcon 9/Dragon vehicles to private space stations sent into Earth orbit by Bigelow. The orbital habitats, known as BA-330, would be based on the designs of the Genesis 1 and 2 space stations...which Bigelow successfully flew into orbit in 2006 and 2007, respectively. With SpaceX providing an extra means of transportation, Bigelow now has two ways of getting tourists up to its floating outposts; the company also has an agreement with Boeing that involves its Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 vehicle sending astronauts to BA-330 as well.
NASA / Jim Grossmann
Of course, the Dragon capsule still has more than a week to go (tentatively) to prove that it can successfully dock with a space station (the International Space Station, that is). And it will still be 2 to 3 more years before the CST-100 even launches on its first test flight. The first segment of the BA-330 habitat isn't scheduled to launch till that same time frame as well. Ordinary folks with lots of money who want to be the first ones to visit a 'space hotel' will have to remain patient.
Boeing
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