After kicking off a commercial space travel race, Jeff Bezos now wants to take things to another level by building a commercial space station in low-Earth orbit. Blue Origin revealed its ambitious plan at the International Astronautical Congress in Dubai on October 25.
The space station will be called Orbital Reef and would be hosting astronauts from across the globe. It will be used for scientific experiments in microgravity conditions. The company has released a video that shows how the orbital outpost would be used as an in-space manufacturing facility and provide accommodation for tourists. The company claims to provide “exotic hospitality” service to people who visit it.
Hosting up to 10 people at a time
The company will be joining hands with Colorado-based Sierra Space and aerospace giant Boeing for this venture. Other companies are also expected to join the project to create what’s also described as a space-based “mixed-use business park.”
Orbital Reef would as big as the International Space Station (ISS) and host up to 10 people at a time. And with the ISS inching closer to its decommissioning with the next decade, Blue Origin’s facility would arrive in time to replace the space laboratory.
John Mulholland, Boeing VP and program manager for the ISS, says Blue Origin’s plan is unique because it doesn’t try to copy existing space stations, “but rather goes a step further to fulfill a unique position in low Earth orbit where it can serve a diverse array of companies and host non-specialist crews.”
Making a space station is not easy
However, turning Orbital Reef into reality could be a huge task. Cost is a no-brainer, with Blue Origin and Sierra Space yet to release an estimate of the amount required to complete the project. Some funding could come from NASA, which is looking for proposals from private space companies to replace the ISS. But Blue Origin seems to go forward with its plans without any help from the space agency.
The company aims to provide “an end-to-end service: transportation and logistics, leased space for any purpose, assistance with system hardware development, robotic and crew-tended operations and servicing, and habitation amenities,” said Blue Origin.
