Blue Origin announced Monday that it has partnered with several aerospace companies in order to build a private satellite station.
Orbital Reef, described in a release as a ‘mixed use business park’ in space,’ is expected to ready to be released into low Earth orbit by 2030, right about when NASA is slated to mothball the International Space Station.
The proposed platform is a collaboration of Blue Origin and Sierra Space, which is a subsidiary aerospace contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation. It also includes additional technology from Boeing Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Boeing.
According to the release, “The station will open a new chapter in human space exploration and advancement by facilitating the growth and development of a vibrant ecosystem as well as a business model for future,”
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Blue Origin has announced Orbital Reef, a private-sector space station its developing with Sierra Space, a subsidiary of aerospace contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation. Redwire Space, Boeing and Genesis Engineering Solutions will contribute additional resources to the platform, which is scheduled to be operational by end of decade.
According to CNBC, Bezos has been researching building a space station for more than a year. Blue Origin posted job listings earlier this month for a vaguely named “Orbital Destinations” team.
“NASA and other space agencies have been developing orbital space flight and habitation for over sixty years,” said Brent Sherwood Senior Vice President of Blue Origin’s Advanced Development Programs.
Orbital Reef will have almost as much habitable volume as the International Space Station, though it will have room for people — ten, compared to the ISS’s six.
Sherwood stated that ‘we will increase access, lower cost, and provide all of the services and amenities required to normalize the space flight’. A vibrant business ecosystem will develop in low Earth orbit, creating new discoveries, new products and increasing global awareness.
Blue Origin will manufacture the station’s core modules and utility systems. The station’s reusable New Glenn launch vehicle will be built by Blue Origin. Sierra Space will contribute its Large Integrated Flexible Environment modules (LIFE). The Dream Chaser spacecraft, which will transport crew and cargo to and from the Reef, will also be used.
Blue Origin will supply the station’s core modules and utility systems. The New Glenn launch system is reusable. Sierra Space, Nevada, will contribute its Large Integrated Flexible Environment modules and Dream Chaser spacecraft.
The vessel can land on runways around the world and will transport crew and cargo to and from Reef.
Janet Kavandi, Sierra Space President, said that she was a former NASA Astronaut and had been waiting for the day when living in space and working in it would be possible to everyone.
Boeing will also contribute to station operations, maintenance and design. Genesis’ Single Person Spacecraft is used for ‘routine operations’ and tourist excursions.
Orbital Reef has space for ten and is aimed at industrial, academic, commercial and tourist clients.
Brand Griffin, Genesis program manager, said that tourists and space workers will both have safe, comfortable, quick access outside Orbital Reef.
Redwire Space will concentrate on manufacturing and development, payload operations as well deployable structures and microgravity operations.
Redwire’s stock rose 40 percent to $16.06 after the announcement. Trading was temporarily halted by New York Stock Exchange (CNBC)
Rewire stock traded at $13.34 per share as of 3:30pm PT.
According to the release, the developers of the first private-sector crewed platform in low-Earth orbit see it appealing for ‘diverse tenants, visitors,’ which includes commercial and industrial clients as well as space tourists.
Blue Origins CEO Jeff Bezos (above), has been reportedly looking into building a space station over the past year and posted job listings earlier this month for a vaguely named Orbital Destinations’ team.
John Mulholland from Boeing, the program manager for the International Space Station, stated that Orbital Reef is not designed to duplicate the ISS. Rather, it is intended to fill a unique orbit in low Earth orbit where it could serve a diverse range of companies and host a non-specialist crew.
He said, “It requires the same kind of expertise that we used to first design, then build, the International Space Station, and the same skills that we use every day to operate and maintain the ISS.”
NASA announced plans in March to continue human presence in low-Earth orbit, after the ISS was retired through the Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Destination (CLD).
Orbital Reef is the latest announcement from the private sector. On Thursday, Lockheed Martin announced plans for a space station with Voyager Space.
Lockheed Martin will develop a space station with Voyager Space in collaboration. Starlab, the commercial platform with a continuously crewed crew, is expected be operational by 2027.
Starlab, the commercial platform with continuously crewed crews, is expected be operational by 2027.
CNBC reported that NASA granted $140 million to Axiom Space, a private spaceflight specialist, in February to build modules to connect to the ISS.
Axiom’s modular systems would be detachable and transformed into a standalone space station once the ISS is retired.
SpaceX has already flown crew and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), but Elon Musk’s company has not stated any plans to build its own platform.
SpaceX won a contract from NASA worth $2.9 billion to build a lunar landing lander. This heated up the space race between Musk and Bezos. Blue Origin sued NASA for not properly vetting bids.
EXPLAINED. THE $100 BILLION INTERNATIONALSPACE STATION SET 250 MILES ABOVE The EARTH
The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100 billion (£80 billion) science and engineering laboratory that orbits 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.
Since November 2000, the station has been manned permanently by rotating crews composed of astronauts or cosmonauts.
Crews have mostly been from Russia and the USA, but ESA and JAXA, Japan’s space agency, have also sent astronauts.
The International Space Station has been continuously used for over 20 years. It has been upgraded and added to with many new modules.
Research conducted aboard the ISS often requires one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit, such as low-gravity or oxygen.
ISS studies have investigated human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology.
The US space agency, NASA, spends about $3 billion (£2.4 billion) a year on the space station program, with the remaining funding coming from international partners, including Europe, Russia and Japan.
So far 244 individuals from 19 countries have visited the station, and among them eight private citizens who spent up to $50 million for their visit.
There is a lot of debate about the future station beyond 2025. It is believed that some of the original structure will eventually die.
Russia, a major member of the station’s partnership, plans to launch its orbital platform around then. AxiomSpace, an private firm, will also be sending its own modules for commercial use to the station.
NASA, ESA and JAXA, as well as Canada’s Space Agency (CSA), are working together to create a space station orbiting the moon. Russia and China are also working on a similar project that would also include a base at the surface.