On Tuesday (January 9) local time, the American space exploration company VoyagerSpace and the French Airbus announced that the two parties had completed the transaction to create a joint venture "StarlabSpace LLC". The press release stated that Starlab, a transatlantic joint venture, will be responsible for the design, construction and operation of the Starlab commercial space station. Additionally, the Starlab team completed a "site-level system definition," a key milestone in assessing the program's technical and procedural responsibilities.
Voyager President Matt Kuta said, "Our goal is to promote the commercial space revolution, and it is clear that we are leading the way in commercial low-Earth orbit (LEO)." In August last year, the company reached an agreement with Airbus, which is responsible for providing technical design support and expertise to Starlab.
With the participation of Airbus in Starlab, Europe's position in low Earth orbit is secured. Jean-Marc Nasr, Head of Defense and Space Systems at Airbus, said, “The joint venture solidifies our strong commitment to reimagine the future of commercial space together with Voyager.”
It is understood that Starlab is a continuously manned, free-flying space station that aims to become the commercial successor to the retiring International Space Station. It will not only provide services to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA), but also provide new opportunities for commercial users.
NASA predicts that the International Space Station should cease operations before 2030. Starlab's commercial space station is scheduled to launch in 2028 to ensure the continued presence of astronauts in low Earth orbit.
It should be noted that Starlab is not NASA’s only option. In 2021, NASA signed agreements with three commercial space companies in the United States, one of which is Nanoracks, a subsidiary of Voyager, and the other two projects were awarded to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman respectively.