Tue, Aug 08, 2023
Commercial Space Station Race Sees New European Entrant
Voyager Space joined hands with Airbus Defence and Space in an agreement to develop, build, and operate Starlab, a commercial space station successor to the ISS.
The US-led joint venture will "bring together world-class leaders in the space domain, while further uniting American and European interests in space exploration," further reinforcing ties in an international space community that's quickly drifting apart in the wind down of the ISS program. Starlab will become a "crewed, free-flying space station to serve NASA and a global customer base of space agencies and researchers," under the Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development program. Voyager's previous successes under the $160-million Space Act Agreement via Nanoracks should help to provide an additional base of expertise for the firm going forward on its most ambitious program yet.
“We are proud to charter the future of space stations with Airbus,” said Matthew Kuta, President at Voyager Space. “The International Space Station is widely regarded as the most successful platform for global cooperation in space history, and we are committed to building on this legacy as we move forward with Starlab. We are establishing this joint venture to reliably meet the known demand from global space agencies while opening new opportunities for commercial users.”
“With a track record of innovation and technological firsts, Airbus prides itself on partnering with companies that are looking to change history,” said Jean-Marc Nasr, Head of Space Systems at Airbus. “This transatlantic venture with footprints on both sides of the ocean aligns the interests of both ourselves and Voyager and our respective space agencies. This pioneers continued European and American leadership in space that takes humanity forward. Together our teams are focused on creating an unmatched space destination both technologically and as a business operation.”
“Today marks a major step forward for the future of commercial space destinations,” continues Kuta. “We are proud to have NASA’s trust to build the replacement for the ISS, a partnership that expands Starlab’s ecosystem to global space agencies, and a team that is mission-driven and dedicated to reimagining the future.”
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