Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has announced an ambitious plan to operate its own commercial space station called Orbital Reef sometime after 2024.
“Designed to open multiple new markets in space, Orbital Reef will provide anyone with the opportunity to establish their own address on orbit,” the company announced on Monday.
Blue Origin describes the station as a “mixed used business park” in space. Orbital Reef will reside in a low Earth orbit at 310 miles, and function as a hub for research, commerce, tourism and logistics, where spaceships can also come and go.
“Maybe there’s a company that wants to manufacture materials in space,” Blue Origin says in a video about the project. “Maybe there’s a school that wants to send an experiment up. Maybe there’s a nation that’s ready to send someone into low-Earth orbit to inspire their entire nation.”
The company also envisions the station supplying the infrastructure to commercialize space travel. “The station will open the next chapter of human space exploration and development by facilitating the growth of a vibrant ecosystem and business model for the future,” it adds.
In addition, the company is designing Orbital Reef to be expandable. Enterprise customers from across the globe will be able to dock new pod-like modules onto the station. “We will expand access, lower the cost, and provide all the services and amenities needed to normalize space flight,” adds Blue Origin SVP Brent Sherwood.
To build the station, Blue Origin has recruited Sierra Space, a company that specializes in building life-support modules for outer space, as a strategic partner. Meanwhile, Boeing will provide crew and cargo transportation through the company’s Starliner spaceship. Another company called Genesis Engineering Solutions is developing a single-person spacecraft for the Orbital Reef station.
Together, the companies plan on providing an “end-to-end service” for the station covering transportation, logistics, leased space, and amenities. But obviously, the major challenge will be developing the spaceships and technology capable of constructing and maintaining Orbital Reef. The companies didn’t offer a firm timetable on the station’s development, but they expect Orbital Reef to become a premier destination for space travel by the end of this decade.
