Voyager Space is joining forces with Airbus Defence and Space on a joint venture for the development of the Starlab commercial space station.
Aug. 2, they announced the creation of a joint venture, also called Starlab, that will be responsible for the development and operation of the station. The joint venture builds upon an agreement announced in January where Voyager selected Airbus to provide technical support for the proposed station.
51% of the company will be owned by U.S. entities like Voyager Space. Lockheed Martin is working on the inflatable habitat for the Starlab space station.
Voyager will be the first continuously crewed, free-flying, commercial space station to serve NASA and space agencies around the globe. Leveraging innovative technologies, Starlab is designed with accessible infrastructure tools to conduct investigations, advance scientific discovery, and foster industrial activity in microgravity.
The main structure of Starlab consists of a large inflatable habitat to be built by Lockheed Martin and a metallic docking node. The station is being designed to support 4 persons in 340 cubic meters of volume. The station also features a 60 kW power and propulsion element, a large robotic arm for servicing cargo and external payloads. The station is supposed to be operational in 2027.
Voyager Space, through Nanoracks, received a $160 million Space Act Agreement from NASA in December 2021 to support initial design work on Starlab, one of three such awards NASA issued through its Commercial LEO Destinations initiative. The Starlab team recently completed a system requirements review for the station with NASA.
Starlab will focus on research applications, rather than tourism. The station is designed to fit on a single launch, outfitted on the ground with all the research equipment needed for its customers. “All the things that ISS does is what we’re focused on being able to continue, but with more modern equipment, technologies and capabilities.”
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