WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2021) Two US-based companies have announced a new low earth orbit space station to be privately built and developed for commercial industrial operations in space, Blue Origin announced in a press release on Monday.
"Blue Origin and Sierra Space today announced plans for Orbital Reef, a commercially developed, owned, and operated space station to be built in low Earth orbit," the release said. "The station will open the next chapter of human space exploration and development."
The new station will facilitate the growth of a vibrant ecosystem and business model and it is already backed by space industry leaders and teammates including Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions and Arizona State University, Blue Origin, which was founded and is owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, said.
"Designed to open multiple new markets in space, Orbital Reef will provide anyone with the opportunity to establish their own address on orbit. This unique destination will offer research, industrial, international, and commercial customers the cost competitive end-to-end services they need," the release added.
The space station's services will include space transportation and logistics, space habitation, equipment accommodation, and operations including onboard crew and it will start operating in the second half of this decade, according to the release.
