Following last week's news that the first space hotel could be ready for guests in 2027, chief architect Tim Alatorre answers questions posed by sceptical Dezeen readers about the project.
The claim that the wheel-shaped space hotel would be constructed in just one year was questioned by several Dezeen commenters.
Others expressed doubts about the way the spinning ring would replicate the effects of gravity through centrifugal force.
But Alatorre, who is chief architect for the project and chief operating officer at space construction firm Orbital Assembly Corporation, reassured readers that the 2027 opening date is achievable.
"This is dependent on everything going to plan, which in space we know things don't always go to plan," Alatorre told Dezeen. "We are pushing for this date."
The biggest obstacle to completion is the availability of rockets powerful enough to ferry components to an altitude of around 2,000km above the surface of the earth, where they will be assembled in low-earth orbit.
"We will need the next generation of launch platforms to become operational," he said.
Rotation "slightly faster than the second hand of a clock"
Guests would not get space sickness in the spinning Voyager Station, Alatorre confirmed.
"We will be rotating at approximately 1.2 revolutions per minute, which is slightly faster than the second hand of a clock," he said.
"Studies have shown that humans can adapt up to as high as 23 r...