Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to Build Private Orbital Reef Space Station

Blue origin announced plans to build a private space station called Orbital Reef by 2030. On this project, she will collaborate with Boeing, Sierra Space and several other companies.

Orbital Reef's prospective clients are national governments, the private sector, various investors and space tourists, according to the project team. Ultimately, the station will be able to perform the same tasks as the ISS, which is expected to be decommissioned between 2028 and 2030.

Blue Origin will develop several Orbital Reef modules and the New Glenn heavy rocket, which will carry them into space. Its test launch is planned for the end of 2022. Boeing will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the station, and will also provide science modules and a Starliner capsule to get people and cargo into orbit.

Sierra Space is preparing Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) expandable modules that will serve as the basis for Orbital Reef's main living spaces. It will also provide the Dream Chaser reusable spacecraft, which can also be used to deliver cargo and crew.

Other partners include Redwire Space, which develops solar panels and various deployable designs, as well as Genesis Engineering Solutions, creating a single spacewalk with Orbital Reef.

The station will be able to accommodate up to 10 people. Its internal volume at launch will be approximately 830 cubic meters (for comparison, the ISS has 916 cubic meters). Over time, Orbital Reef will grow and develop, offering various research opportunities for partners from all over the world. According to Blue Origin, the station will be able to offer almost any range of services.

In the future, Orbital Reef may receive funding from NASA, which is interested in developing alternatives to the aging ISS. In addition to this outpost, by the end of the 2020s, Starlab - a smaller-scale, but also modern and flexible in its architecture station from Nanoracks, Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin.