When I read about the Orbital Assembly's plans to begin construction on a space hotel in 2026, it didn't occur to me to doubt that it would happen. I just imagined my first step, Neil Armstrong style, onto the jet bridge and felt my heart, legs and stomach all judder in real life. I wondered whether I would be brave enough, given the chance, to take that second step. This is the perfect cultural moment to dangle the Kennedy-era optimism of a space hotel before a country full of jumpy shut-ins. We're as ready to flee as Andy Dufresne tunnelling out of Shawshank State Prison, and, man, do we need an escape.