Future habitats in leo
Commercial Leo destination & nextstep awarded station proposals
The next wave of LEO space stations.
BY: JONATHAN P. ROLL
as of April, 2023
axiom station
Lead Institutions: Axiom Space
Partner Institutions: Thales Alenia
Progress:
2022 Sep – MOU with Saudi space commission to fly Saudi astronauts.
2022 Sep – MOU’s with Turkey for astronaut trip; Canada, Hungry & New Zealand for research
2022 Sep – Awarded Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) next-gen spacesuit contract
2023 Apr – Thales Alenia completing a number of hardware structures for Hab 1 & 2 now
2023 May – Ax-2 mission launch: two American & two Saudi Arabian astronauts
Target Dates:
2025 – First modules launched to ISS
2026 – second clone module launched (6-8mo after first)
NextSTEP Award: $140 mil.
Envisioned Crew: TBD
Power: ? Volume: ?
Mission/Vision: “Construction of the world’s first commercial space station from modules attached to ISS to independence.”
Intended Capabilities: “Hub-1 has 4 crew quarters, Payload accommodations, and crew amenities/life-support, Research & manufacturing capabilities, Hub-2, Lab, & Power Tower” Also will provide astronaut candidate training and certifcation; expert mission planning transportation, provisions microgravity experiment, design and managemtn of orbital time”
AZ Engagement: Axiom and ASU are both executive-level academic institution member). Perhaps ASU could consult at some point with the Axiom Station team on lessons-learned and best-practices from the Orbital Reef University Adviosry Council once it gets underway? Additionally, ASU’s growing expertise across robotics-teaming & human systems engineering could add value to axioms training prgrams?
northrop grumman
commercial space station
Lead Institutions: Northrop Grumman
Partner Institutions: Dynetics, Star Harbor
Progress (SAA gets them through PDR):
2022 Sep – Northrop Grumman and Star Harbor partner on market research & crew training.
2022 Oct – Iterate off Cygnus heritage; Lower tech risk and reliable; Differs from flashy first-time competitors’ hardware and design.
Target Dates:
2027 – NG Commercial Space Station operational
Commercial LEO Destinations Award: $125.6 mil.
Envisioned Crew: 4-6
Power: ? Volume: 150-300m3
Mission/Vision: “Space-as-a-service commercial LEO station to continue work of the ISS
Intended Capabilities: “Heritage-heavy from Cygnus & HALO for rapid deployment & modular expansion to meet the growing needs of the space economy. Multiple docking ports, crew habitats, labs, movie production, crew ailocks, and facillities capable of providing artifical gravity, in-space manufactuing, external payloads platform support and science & research support.”
AZ Engagement: Northrop Grumman’s “launch business components” have facillities in Phoenix. Perhaps ASU could consult at some point with this station’s institutional team on lessons-learned and best practices from the orbital Reef University Advisory Council once it gets underway?
orbital reef
Lead Institutions: Blue Origin, Sierra Space
Partner Institutions: Boeing, Redwire, AWS, Amazon Supply Chain, Genesis Engineering Solutions, IBM, Arizona State University
Progress (SAA gets them through CDR):
2022 Aug – SDR passed: station concept meets functional and performance requirements.
2022 Sep – Applications opened for Reef Starter Innovation Challenge with TechConnect
2022-23 – Dream Chaser uncrewed test vehicle, “Tenacity”, being affixed with thermal tiles
2023 Apr – Blue announces new 43k sq.ft. facility in Phoenix for “advanced spacecraft”
2023 – LIFE module undergoing successful pressure tests
Target Dates:
2023 Jul — WDR, FRF, & maidan test launch of ULA’s Vulcan; will enable Dream Chaser (payload, Astrobotic’s “Peregrine” lunar lander limits possible monthly launch window)
2024-2025 — Blue Origin’s New Glenn test flight
2026 — Sierra’s crewed Dream Chaser orbital test flight
2027 — Orbital Reef operational
Commercial LEO Destinations Award: $130 mil.
Envisioned Crew: 6-10
Power: ? Volume: 830m3
Mission/Vision: “Space station business park with straightforword access for all.”
Intended Capabilities: “Transport logistics leased space, utilities, berths scale with market demand. Help with system hardware development, robotic and crew-tended operations and servicing & habitation amenities. 4-6 permanent crew.”
AZ Engagement: ASU leads the Orbital Reef University Advisory Council, a global consortium of 14 universities (including Stanford & Oxford) with expertise in space and microgravity research. The Council will “focus academic community needs, stimulate research, advise novice researchers, evolve standards of conduct, and lead STEM outreach.”
starlab
Lead Institutions: Voyager Space, Nanoracks, Airbus
Partner Institutions: The Ohio State University, ASU/MILO, University of Michigan, Purdue University
Progress (SAA gets them through CDR)
2022 Sep – Hilton “helping design accommodations and ground-to-space astronaut experince”
2022 Oct – MOU’s with 5 Latin American countries during IAC
2022 Oct – Plans for George Washington Carver Science Park’s terrestrial component to be established at the Ohio State Univ.
2023 Jan – Airbus supplants Lockheed Martin as main partner with Voyager on project.
Target Dates:
2027 – Starlab Operational
Commercial LEO Destinations Award: $160 mil.
Envisioned Crew: 4
Power: 60kW Volume: 340m3
Mission/Vision: “Multifunctional Station for commerce & innovation, business and science.”
Intended Capabilities: “Inflatable habitat, robotic arm for servicing cargo and external payloads, Ohio State Univ.’s George Washington Carver science Park state of the art lab will host advanced research and science in 4 first core topic and an open workbench.”
AZ Engagement: Part of disscussion with Ohio State on GWCSP research plans.

REFERENCES
Axiom Station
- Axiom Station: Construction is Underway. https://www.axiomspace.com/axiom-station
- Brief video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHMrYYIXxqE
Northrop Grumman’s Commercial Space Station
- A Closer Look. http://parabolicarc.com/2022/02/02/a-closer-look-at-northrop-grumman-commercial-space-station/
- Brief video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMEV38XwChE
- General info & Station Specifications. https://www.northropgrumman.com/space/commercial-space-station/
- “The Commercial Future of Low-Earth Orbit”. https://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/tb/pub/features/articles/46276
Orbital Reef
- A Closer Look. http://parabolicarc.com/2022/02/02/a-closer-look-at-blue-origins-orbital-reef-commercial-space-station/
- Brief video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC3ooNXfcGE&t=140s
- “NASA awards $130 million to Orbital Reef space station”. https://news.asu.edu/20211202-global-engagement-nasa-awards-130-million-orbital-reef-space-station
- Orbital Reef one-pager. https://blueorigin-static-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/orbital-reef-one-pager.pdf
- Sierra Space Hires Former SpaceX Executive as CIO. https://spacenews.com/sierra-space-hires-former-spacex-executive-as-cio/
Starlab
- A Closer Look. http://parabolicarc.com/2022/02/01/a-closer-look-at-nanoracks-starlab-commercial-space-station/
- Brief video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-C0xjNdq-A
- “NASA, Private companies count on market demand for future space stations after ISS”. https://www.space.com/nasa-commercial-space-station-rely-on-market-demand
ISS
- NASA core information. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Lunar Gateway
- NASA core information. https://www.nasa.gov/gateway/