Airbus, Voyager to Develop New Space Station

Airbus and Voyager Space are launching a joint venture to develop, build and operate Starlab, a commercial successor for the International Space Station, or ISS.

The US-led venture, still subject to regulatory approvals, will bring together world-class leaders in the space sector and ensure ongoing US and European collaboration in space, the companies said in a joint statement.

Voyager, through its subsidiary Nanoracks, was awarded US$160 million by NASA in late-2021 to develop Starlab, billed as a “continuously crewed, free-flying space station to serve NASA and a global customer base of space agencies and researchers”.

The space station is slated to start operations in 2028.

Voyager announced in January it had selected Airbus to provide technical support and expertise for the project, which will also have a European joint venture subsidiary to serve the European Space Agency, or ESA, and its member state space agencies.

“This transatlantic venture with footprints on both sides of the ocean aligns the interests of both ourselves and Voyager and our respective space agencies,” said Jean-Marc Nasr, head of space systems at Airbus.

“This pioneers continued European and American leadership in space that takes humanity forward. Together our teams are focused on creating an unmatched space destination both technologically and as a business operation.”

The ISS, a 460-ton, permanently crewed platform orbiting some 250 miles above Earth, was launched in 1998 with its first long-term residents arriving onboard in late-2000. The size of a football field, it is billed as the largest single structure humans have ever put into space.

NASA is planning to retire the ISS in 2030 before transitioning to commercial space stations to continue its low-Earth orbit work.


Airbus, Europe’s largest aeronautics and space company, will be exhibiting at Breakbulk Americas 2023, taking place on 26-28 September at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.

The event’s main stage agenda includes an “Air Freight Solutions for Breakbulk Cargo” panel discussion on 28 September. The session, moderated by Faycal Boumerkhoufa at Cargo Live Logistics, will zero in on the latest developments impacting airborne project cargo.

PHOTO: Artist view Starlab. CREDIT: Starlab Space LLC