NASA Awards $415.6M To Three Companies For Low-Orbit Space Station Designs

NASA has signed contracts totaling $415.6 million with three companies that have been tasked with designing space stations and other space destinations which will enable the creation of a U.S.-led commercial economy in low-Earth orbit.

What Happened: The companies receiving Space Act Agreements contracts include Blue Origin, which is owned and operated by Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos. Blue Origin receives $130 million for the continuation of its development of Orbital Reef, a commercially owned and operated low-Earth orbit space station scheduled to begin operating in the second half of this decade. The company is teaming with Boeing Co BA, Redwire Corp RDW, Genesis Engineering and Arizona State University on this endeavor.

NASA also allocated $160 million to Nanoracks LLC for its proposed Starlab commercial low-Earth orbit destination, which is slated for launch in 2027. Starlab is being developed in collaboration with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT.

The third company to receive funding is Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC, which will use its $125.6 million from NASA to design a modular, commercial destination in low-Earth orbit. The company is working with Dynetics on this project.

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Why It Matters: NASA is aiming to maintain an uninterrupted U.S. presence in low-Earth orbit by transitioning from the International Space Station to other platforms.

“Building on our successful initiatives to partner with private industry to deliver cargo, and now our NASA astronauts, to the International Space Station, NASA is once again leading the way to commercialize space activities,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “With commercial companies now providing transportation to low-Earth orbit in place, we are partnering with U.S. companies to develop the space destinations where people can visit, live, and work, enabling NASA to continue forging a path in space for the benefit of humanity while fostering commercial activity in space.”

Photo: Artist’s rendering of Northrop Grumman’s free flyer commercial destination design, courtesy of the company.