The Starlab commercial space station project is moving toward the production phase, having passed a key development milestone with NASA.
Starlab, a joint project between the U.S. space technology firm Voyager Space and European aerospace conglomerate Airbus, will consist of a service module and a habitat large enough to host four space tourists. Currently, the station is expected to launch in 2028 aboard SpaceX’s Starship megarocket.
The recently completed preliminary design review (PDR) marks the beginning of the station’s “full-scale” production, the company said in a statement.
During the PDR, an expert panel from NASA and the project partners greenlit the space station’s design after reviewing potential safety issues and other concerns.
Related: Meet Starlab: Private space station planned to fly in the late 2020s
“Our successful PDR is a testament to the expertise and dedication of our team,” Starlab CEO Tim Kopra said in the statement. “This milestone confirms that our space station design is technically sound and safe for astronaut crewed operations. Now, with our partners, we shift our focus to the full-scale development of the station, including the manufacturing of critical hardware and software integration.”
The 12,000-cubic-foot (340-cubic-meter) Starlab will be fitted with a robotic arm and a set of racks for microgravity experiments to enable companies and researchers to develop new products in space. Voyager also hopes to seal a contract with NASA to host the agency’s astronauts.
The project will now move into its detailed design and hardware development phase, which will conclude with a critical design review likely in 2026.
In the coming months, the project partners will develop a high-fidelity mockup for systems testing, which will be assembled at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston this summer. The teams will also begin assembling the station’s avionics and computing systems, test software and novel life support technologies including an Advanced Urine Processor, a more compact and failure-proof version of the water-recovery system currently in use at the International Space Station.
“Starlab’s progress underscores our collective commitment to ensuring U.S. leadership in low Earth orbit with investment and partnership from key allied international organizations and agencies,” said Dylan Taylor, chairman and CEO of Voyager Technologies, the majority shareholder in Starlab’s joint venture. “We are ready to advance human spaceflight, ensure a continuous human presence in LEO, and build a thriving commercial space ecosystem.”
The space station project received $217.5 million from NASA through the Commercial LEO Destinations Phase 1 program and $15 million from the Texas Space Commission, in addition to private funding.
