Commercial Space Stations For Tourists, Filmmakers? NASA Announces $415 Million Deal With 3 Firms

The announcement comes two days after NASA confirmed its plans to replace the International Space Station with a commercial station by 2030, according to reports.

NASA has awarded $415.6 million to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and Nanoracks to build commercial space hubs| Photo: Twitter/@KathyLueders

New Delhi: NASA has awarded $415.6 million to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and Nanoracks to build privately-owned and operated commercial space stations at a time when several companies are sending tourists into space on brief flights, the US space agency announced on Thursday, according to media reports.

The announcement comes two days after NASA confirmed its plans to replace the International Space Station with a commercial station by 2030, according to reports. The three private companies will develop new space hubs as part of NASA's Commercial Low-Earth orbit Destinations Program.

Besides being a research laboratory, the commercial space stations will serve as destinations for tourists, filmmakers, and researchers working on industrial experimentation.

On Friday, Kathy Lueders, head of NASA's Human Spaceflight Program, tweeted that NASA had signed agreements with Blue Origin, Nanoracks, and Northrop Grumman to develop designs of commercial space stations "to meet our needs and ensure a seamless transition of activity from the space station".

BREAKING: NASA has signed agreements with @blueorigin, @nanoracks, and @northropgrumman to develop designs of commercial space stations to meet our needs and ensure a seamless transition of activity from the @Space_Station: https://t.co/pExMPzMyr4 pic.twitter.com/PSqcMC8Gf8

— Kathy Lueders (@KathyLueders) December 2, 2021

NASA has awarded $130 million, $125.6 million, and $160 million to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, and Nanoracks respectively, according to the reports.

Phil McAlister, Director of commercial spaceflight, NASA, said the space agency had received eleven proposals in total, out of which three proposals were selected, TechCrunch reported. Of the three chosen proposals, there was a diversity of technical concepts offered, he added. "This diversity not only enhances the likelihood of success of NASA strategy, but it also leads to a high degree of innovation, which is critical in most commercial space endeavours," the report quoted him as saying.

Blue Origin's Orbital Reef, Nanoracks' Starlab, and Northrop Grumman's Unnamed Space Hub

A number of details about the proposals have been published by the three companies on their websites. Blue Origin has named its commercial space station "Orbital Reef". It is being designed in collaboration with Boeing and Sierra Space. Bezos' company announced its plans for Orbital Reef in late October. Orbital Reef will serve as "a mixed-use business park in space" that will support microgravity research and manufacturing, according to a Blue Origin statement. The commercial space station is slated to be launched in 2027.

Brent Sherwood, senior vice-president of advanced development programs for Blue Origin, said no knows how commercial LEO markets will develop, but the company intends to find out, according to a Blue Origin statement.

Nanoracks is building a commercial space station with its parent company Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin. The station, called Starlab, will enable NASA's initiative to stimulate the commercial space economy and provide science and crew capabilities prior to the retirement of the ISS. Starlab will be equipped with a large inflatable habitat, a metallic docking node, a robotic arm for cargo and payloads, and a research laboratory, Nanoracks said on its website.

Quoting Nanoracks Chief Executive Amela Wilson, a Reuters report said, "This opportunity opens far-reaching possibilities for critical research and commercial industrial activity in LEO."

Northrop Grumman is working with Dynetics to build a station with a modular design that is based around its Cygnus spacecraft. Steve Krein, Northrop Grumman vice president for civil and commercial space, said its space station would enable sustainable commercial-based missions where NASA does not bear all the costs but serves as one of many customers, the Reuters report stated.

NASA Has Planned A Two-phase Process To Build Commercial Space Station

NASA said the contracts were the first in a two-phase approach to ensure a seamless transition of activity from the International Space Station to commercial destinations. 

In a report by the Office of Inspector General, United States, NASA stressed that the overall success of the development of a thriving economy was dependent upon avoiding the gap between the retirement of the ISS and the establishment of a new space station.

NASA said the space agency would be unable to conduct microgravity health research and technology demonstrations needed for long-duration human exploration missions to the Moon and Mars if there was no habitable commercial destination in low Earth orbit after the ISS was decommissioned. 

NASA has proposed commercial LEO "destinations" to be operational by 2028, indicating an overlapping period of two years before the ISS is retired. Though some sections raised doubts about the feasibility of achieving the goal by 2028, the three private companies and NASA are confident on avoiding a gap. The work required for the completion of the first phase will continue through 2025, reports said.

The second phase is slated to begin in 2026, where NASA plans to certify one or more space stations for human use. Once the station is developed, the space agency will eventually become one of the many customers purchasing in-orbit services. This will allow NASA to focus on its Artemis program, and future human spaceflights to Mars, the agency said in a statement.

Axiom Space, also known as Axiom, is an American space infrastructure developer that was awarded a contract to send modules to the ISS to attach to the station before separating and self-orbiting as its own station. Surprisingly, Axiom is absent from the picture. The company said it did not bid on the Commercial Low-Earth orbit Destinations Program, according to reports.

McAlister also told TechCrunch that NASA encouraged bidders to maximise their financial contribution to activities such as designing space hubs. He noted that NASA's contribution to the investments was less than 40% currently.