Jeff Bezos’ Blue origin space venture and its partners won a $130 million prize to start designing Orbital Reef commercial space station, possibly formed during the waning years of the International Space Station.
Two other groups also won NASA funding for their design efforts: Houston-based Nanoracks will receive $160 million for its Starlab concept, while Northrop Grumman will receive $125.6 million for its proposal.
Blue Origin – with headquarters in Kent, Wash – is working with Sierra Space as well as Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions and Arizona State University on Orbital Reef.
The project is envisioned as an expandable business park, with Boeing’s Starliner space taxi and Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spacecraft transporting passengers to and from low Earth orbit for projects. travel projects, research, production in space, and more. NASA could perhaps use Orbital Reef or other commercial space platforms as a control station and training base for missions beyond Earth orbit.
“We are delighted that NASA is supporting the development of Orbital Reef, a revolutionary approach to making Earth orbit more accessible to diverse customers and industries,” said Brent Sherwood, Blue Origin Senior Vice President of Advanced Development Programs, said today in a news release.
“In addition to meeting the needs of ISS partners, the Orbital Reef mixed-use space business park will provide cost and complexity reduction services, turnkey services, and antagonism. Inspiring spatial architecture to support any business,” says Sherwood. “No one knows how the commercial LEO markets will develop, but we plan to find out.”
NASA’s support for commercial LEO outposts follows an established pattern for supply to the International Space Station, transport crew, and develop lunar lander for future lunar missions.
“With commercial companies now providing transport to low Earth orbit, we are working with US companies to develop space destinations where people can visit , live and work, allowing NASA to continue creating a path in space for the benefit of humanity while also promoting commercial activity in space,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a news release.
Blue Origin and Colorado-based Sierra Space are key partners on the Orbital Reef project. Boeing will provide its expertise in space station development and management, as well as Starliner transportation services. Redwire Space will focus on research into the development and operation of payloads and large-scale deployable structures.
Genesis Engineering will develop its Single-Man Spacecraft — essentially, a “2001”-style capsule equipped with robotic tools — for routine operations and excursions. And Arizona State University will lead a global consortium focused on public outreach and research services.
Two other groups plan a similar division of labor: Northrop Grumman will build on its experience with the Cygnus cargo spacecraft as well as with the robotic service spacecraft in its orbit, and lunar orbital habitat module it is building for NASA. Northrop Grumman’s team includes Dynetics and other partners to be named later.
Nanoracks, meanwhile, is working with Voyager Space (which considers Nanoracks a subsidiary) and Lockheed Martin. Nanoracks will draw on its experience in logistics and payload deployment, Lockheed Martin will provide a large inflatable habitat and other hardware, and Voyager will leverage its expertise in investment strategy and integrated operation.
The awards announced today will support design and development efforts through 2025. That will set the stage for further awards from NASA, which will certify commercial and procurement space stations. crew and payload storage services.
Space agency officials were expected to continue supporting the International Space Station until at least 2028, but they realized that the orbiting outpost – had has existed since 1998 – may have to retire and perhaps break up not long after. That is the reason for the current focus on next-generation space stations.
Last year, NASA reached a $140 million deal with HoAxiom Space relies on uston to provide a commercial residency module for the International Space Station – a module that Axiom says could be split off to form the basis of a free-flying space station Future.
