Starlab Space chose SpaceX's Starship rocket to launch the Starlab commercial space station.
Starlab Space announced that it has reached an agreement with billionaire Elon Musk's company to launch the Starlab commercial space station using the giant Starship rocket.
The two companies did not disclose the terms of the agreement or the expected launch date, although Starlab Space is confident that the Starlab commercial space station will be launched before the International Space Station is taken out of service, which is currently scheduled for 2030.
NASA hopes to have the four-seat Starlab commercial space station operational by 2030.
NASA has been promoting the development of private outposts for years so astronauts can continue to live and work in low Earth orbit after the International Space Station is decommissioned.
The Starlab commercial space station is one of the few private space station programs currently in development.
The projects have received significant funding from NASA through a new initiative called the Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Development Program.
This step aims to avoid a gap during the shutdown of the International Space Station.
“We chose the giant Starship rocket because of SpaceX’s success and reliability as a leader in high-frequency launches,” Starlab Space said in a statement.
Voyager and Airbus announced on January 9 that they have terminated the Starlab Space joint venture that was announced in August last year.
Voyager has been working with Airbus to develop the Starlab commercial space station since last January, after ending the previous partnership with Lockheed Martin.
The two companies designed the Starlab commercial space station to be launched in a single flight.
The Starlab commercial space station includes a large living and laboratory module with a smaller service module for power and propulsion.
The size of the Starlab commercial space station prevents a launch with SpaceX's massive Starship rocket.
Airbus said in November that the Starlab commercial space station is more than 8 meters in diameter, meaning it cannot carry rockets other than the giant Starship rocket currently in use or under development.
The Starlab commercial space station will be made of stainless steel and will use large launch rockets capable of carrying up to 100 tons of cargo to low Earth orbit.
The two companies plan to build the Starlab commercial space station and fully integrate it on Earth before launch.
This eliminates the need for on-orbit assembly, shortens the manufacturing time to three years and reduces launch costs by more than 80%.
SpaceX said its team is excited to launch the Starlab commercial space station to support continued human presence in low Earth orbit – a step toward creating multi-planetary life.