Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin — in partnership with a handful of other companies that include the likes of Boeing — has announced plans for the world’s first privately-owned space station that will be used for activities ranging from casual space joyrides to advertising and conducting advanced scientific experiments. The plans are ambitious and will give a new meaning to commercial space activities with no clear boundaries when it comes to the range of services available to private parties.

The space station race has actually picked up a feverish pace lately. Earlier this month, China sent three astronauts to its new Tiangong Space Station for a six-month stay, but additional details of the mission remain shrouded in mystery. So far, space stations have been regulated by government bodies, but multiple private agencies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Boeing have lately emerged as the first commercial stakeholders to what they call a budding space economy, with plans ranging from commercial orbit tours to satellite injection and cargo movement.

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For the Orbital Reef project, Blue Origin is partnering with Sierra Space to launch a privately-developed, owned, and operated space station in the low-Earth orbit that will serve as a mixed-use business park in space and is aimed to become operational in the second half of the ongoing decade. The press release mentions that Orbital Reef will be the first project that lets anyone buy an address in space, provided they have pockets deep enough to afford space joyrides. Blue Origin will handle the supply of vehicle core utility systems, large diameter modules, and heavy-lift rocket launch systems. Other partners include Boeing (provides science modules, Starliner crew spacecraft, and operations/maintenance), Sierra Space (supplies LIFE and node modules, runway landing spaceplane for crew and cargo transportation), Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering solution, and Arizona State University.

A Business Park In Space For Science And Fun

blue origin plans private space station
Orbital Reef

Regarding the tourism aspect of Orbital Reef, it will offer human-centered space architecture alongside “world-class services and amenities” that include medical care as well as recreational opportunities. But commercial space tourism with the promise of an extended stay aboard an orbital station is just one part of the Orbital Reef’s planned business, with the rest two being advertisement and scientific research. The team behind the ambitious private space station project claims that Orbital Reef will open the doors for cutting-edge scientific experiments conducted in microgravity. And to support those endeavors, the Orbital Reef space station will offer designated science lab facilities as well.

The company says it will adopt an end-to-end service approach, which means it will handle every aspect from payload delivery and servicing to crew-tended operations and habitation amenities that also involve training for newbie space tourists. Another promising element of the Orbital Reef space station project is its scalable architecture, which means it can grow as per demand from private and government customers to add more berths, landing ports, utilities, science labs, and amenities to suit their needs.

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Source: Orbital Reef