Voyager Space (Voyager) and Airbus, global leaders in space exploration, announced the closing of the transaction to create Starlab Space LLC, a transatlantic joint venture that will develop the Starlab commercial space station will develop, build and operate. In parallel with the formation of the joint venture, the Starlab team completed the station-level System Definition Review (SDR), a critical milestone in assessing the technical and programmatic accountability of the program.
“Our goal is to advance the commercial space revolution, and it is clear that we are leading the way for commercial low Earth orbit,” said Matthew Kuta , President of Voyager Space. “Through our joint venture with Airbus, collaboration with Northrop Grumman and Hilton and successfully achieving key milestones, Starlab is setting the new standard for commercial spaceflight.”
In August 2023 , Voyager and Airbus first announced an agreement to establish a transatlantic joint venture to enable a continued human presence in low Earth orbit and a seamless transition of science and research in microgravity in the post-International Space Station era. In October 2023 , Voyager announced a collaboration agreement with Northrop Grumman to develop fully autonomous rendezvous and docking technology for Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft and to provide cargo resupply services for Starlab.
“The International Space Station has inspired global collaboration to a degree never imagined in space,” said Jean-Marc Nasr , head of Space Systems at Airbus. “That will be no different with Starlab. This joint venture underlines our unwavering commitment to reshape the future of commercial space travel alongside Voyager, connecting Starlab with European and American ambitions and pioneering humanity’s future in space.”
In addition to the US company, which has the authority to operate in the United States and with US government agencies, Starlab is expected to establish a European joint venture that will work directly for the European Space Agency and member states’ space agencies.
Nanoracks LLC, part of Voyager’s exploration segment, was awarded the largest of three Commercial Space Act LEO destination contracts by NASA in December 2021 to build Starlab, a free-flying, permanently crewed space station for NASA and a global customer base from space agencies and researchers. The Starlab team has achieved several milestones over the past year, including the successful completion of the SDR and the early completion of both the on-orbit science park and the station-level system requirements review.
SOURCE : PRNewswire