Playboy's forgotten plans to put the cave into orbit

Written by Henry Hards | published 6 hours ago

In 2012, during the early days of commercial space travel and back when magazines were still important to some people, Virgin Galactic was thought to be a major player in the space race. So they teamed up with another player to imagine a way to make money in space by shooting beautiful women in orbit.

Virgin and the still-relevant Playboy magazine at the time thought up ideas for a tropical version of the infamous Playboy Grotto and then artist Thomas Tenere turned it into concept art. Here's what they found…

Playboy's orbiting space station was meant to be more than just a place for beautiful women to hang out. Plans include a restaurant, a zero-gravity dance club, human roulette, and of course, suites where guests can stay and enjoy some privacy.

The theoretical space station will use rotation to create gravity in key areas so your food doesn't float off your plate while dining in a restaurant while allowing for zero-gravity fun in other areas of the structure.

Unfortunately, Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic's attempts to conquer space have long been outdone by competitors like SpaceX and Blue Origin. At the same time, most magazines have ceased operations or are going out of business. This is especially true for Playboy, which cut ties with Hugh Hefner and sold the mansion.