Before the end of the decade, a SpaceX Starship rocket is scheduled to deliver Starlab, a private space station designed by Voyager Space and Airbus, into orbit, the firms announced on Wednesday.
Aiming to bridge a crucial “space station gap” prior to the International Space Station (ISS)’s decommissioning in 2030, Starlab is one of several private space station projects supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa)’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program.
According to TechCrunch, Starlab intends to launch in a single trip, with Starship being the only heavy-lift rocket currently in development that can carry the station’s eight meters in diameter in a single flight.
According to Dylan Taylor, CEO of Voyager, this choice is in line with the original design and lowers the hazards that could arise while in orbit.
He remarked, “Let’s say you have a station that needs to be launched multiple times, and you’re taking the hardware and assembling it [on orbit].” That’s not just extremely expensive, but there’s also a great deal of execution risk involved. We are certain that’s the right course of action, so that’s what we were attempting to prevent.
Taylor disclosed that Voyager and Airbus finalized their Starlab joint venture earlier this month by utilizing their respective government space organizations’ connections and technical know-how.
Closing reviews, including one with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), were to be completed before the move could take place.
The collaboration expands on Airbus’s previous commitment to give Starlab “technical support and expertise.”
Airbus will produce the Starlab module internally, as well as any subsequent Starlabs the joint venture releases.
Voyager stated a year ago that Starlab will launch in 2028. However, Taylor stated that the goal is to deploy Starlab in orbit prior to the ISS retirement in 2030. This recent announcement regarding the launch agreement with SpaceX did not give any concrete dates.
