🇺🇸▼
After more than thirty years of service, the International Space Station, or ISS, will retire in 2030. This retirement will leave a large gap for space science, research, and biological studies. To fill this void, many space agencies are planning new stations. NASA is building the Lunar Gateway, and China is expanding its Tiangong space station. India plans to build the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, while Russia intends to recycle parts of the ISS for a new Russian Orbital Segment. However, the most exciting plans come from private companies. These commercial space stations reflect the rapid growth of the private space sector and the new innovations they have created. Several major concepts include Blue Origin's Orbital Reef, the Axiom Station, Vast's Haven-1, the VERA station by the Gateway Foundation, and the Airbus LOOP and Starlab stations. These projects show what the future of Low Earth Orbit might look like.
In December 2021, NASA chose Blue Origin and Sierra Space to build a mixed-use business park in Low Earth Orbit. This park will support commercial activities and space tourism. Many partners joined this project, including Amazon, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Boeing, and Arizona State University. This contract was part of the first phase of NASA's Commercial LEO Destinations program. These agreements help NASA maintain an American presence in space after the ISS leaves. By summer 2024, both companies had passed important tests, such as successful burst tests of Sierra Space's inflatable modules. The station is designed to hold ten people in a volume of 830 cubic meters. The companies plan to launch their first parts by 2027, hoping to be fully ready by the end of the decade.
Orbital Reef is designed to be flexible and easy to customize. It will have docking ports that fit almost every spacecraft, such as SpaceX's Dragon, Russia's Soyuz, and the Dream Chaser. The station will start with four main modules. The Core module will have 250 cubic meters of living space and will house the command center. It will also have six large windows facing Earth. The Research Module will be similar in size and will serve as a multi-purpose laboratory with an airlock for experiments. A large mast will generate solar power and hold the station's communications systems and a robotic arm. Sierra Space will build the LIFE module, an inflatable structure that is 10 meters long. It will hold four people, provide space for science experiments, and include a garden for growing plants. Finally, a Node module will connect the other parts and provide extra docking ports and space for external equipment.
Axiom Space, a company based in Houston, is developing another modular station with help from NASA and Thales Alenia Space. This idea began as a proposal to add a commercial section to the ISS, but it has grown into a free-flying station that will replace the ISS. The final station will have five modules for different uses. The first part is the Payload Power Thermal Module. It will launch first and attach to the ISS to transfer equipment. This module is scheduled to launch no earlier than 2027. Once it is attached, it will move to a new Habitation Module that launches in 2028.
The first Habitation Module will be 11 meters long and 4.2 meters wide. It will house four crew members and provide power and control for the station. Later, an Airlock module will allow astronauts to go outside. A second Habitation Module will double the crew capacity to eight people. This module will also include a robotic arm and full life support systems. By the 2030s, a Research and Manufacturing module will arrive. This part will allow scientists to make products in space and include a glass cupola to watch Earth. Future plans also include a spherical entertainment studio and the addition of old logistics modules from the ISS.