NASA this week awarded three US companies a total $415.6 million to develop cosmic commercial destinations.
Alongside Nanoracks LLC and Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin secured $130 million for its Orbital Reef "mixed-use space station," expected to launch into low Earth orbit by the end of this decade.
Announced in October, Orbital Reef's vision is to provide an "address in orbit" for anyone—from NASA and ISS partners to governments and agencies needing access to space, according to Blue Origin.
The scalable station will reside some 310 miles above Earth, functioning as a hub for research, commerce, tourism, and logistics, as well as a sort of airport for spaceships to come and go. Orbital Reef teammates include Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering, and Arizona State University.
The funding comes from NASA's Commercial LEO Development program, which aims to transition from the International Space Station—expected to be retired by 2030.
Nanoracks' Starlab commercial low Earth orbit destination, in collaboration with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin, is targeted for launch in 2027 as a continuously crewed commercial space station dedicated to advanced research. Northrop Grumman's design, meanwhile, is built on decades of experience supporting NASA, defense, and commercial programs. Its design leverages flight-proven elements to provide a base module for extended capabilities and future expansion.
To maintain an LEO presence, NASA requires continuous accommodations and training for at least two crew members, as well as the ability to support a national orbiting laboratory and perform some 200 annual investigations. By transitioning to a more open space station model, the agency believes it can save on the cost of living and working in low Earth orbit, while focusing more of its energy on exploring the Moon and Mars through upcoming Artemis missions.