BEZOS GOES ORBITAL WITH SPACE STATION PLAN
WASHINGTON: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin on Monday announced ambitions to launch a space station that will house up to 10 people in the second half of the decade, as the race to commercialise the cosmos heats up.
“Orbital Reef,” described as a mixed-use business park in space that will support microgravity research and manufacturing, is a joint venture with commercial space company Sierra Space and has the support of Boeing and Arizona State University.
“For over 60 years, NASA and other space agencies have developed orbital space flight and space habitation, setting us up for commercial business to take off in this decade,” Blue Origin executive Brent Sherwood said.
“We will expand access, lower the cost, and provide all the services and amenities needed to normalise space flight.”
The private outpost is one of several planned in coming years as NASA considers the future of the International Space Station.