In 2021, Voyager Space presented the Starlab Space Station, and now they are enlisting the help of European aerospace company Airbus to construct it.
Starlab is one of the commercial space stations intended to take over when the International Space Station (ISS) is retired at the end of this decade. Voyager Space’s subsidiary, Nanoracks, will also be involved in the construction of Starlab. Although Lockheed Martin was initially mentioned as a participant in building the space station, they are not mentioned in Airbus’ press release.
The United States’ space agency, NASA, has already committed to funding the development of Starlab with approximately $160 million. It also appears that the European Space Agency (ESA) will participate in the development of Starlab. Airbus states in the press release:
In addition to the US entity, Starlab will have a European joint venture subsidiary to directly serve the European Space Agency (ESA) and its member state space agencies.
There is no information available regarding the total cost of building and launching Starlab into Earth’s orbit.
Voyager Space has previously expressed hopes of having Starlab operational by 2027, but whether that timeline still holds remains unclear.
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