NASA is under a lot of pressure to find a replacement for the International Space Station, which is due to retire in 2030. A project from Blue Origin and Sierra Space recently passed a critical milestone as a result of being tapped by the space agency.
The Orbital Reef System Definition Review was performed by NASA in June and July. The project can now progress to the design phase after the space agency assessed it as feasible and doable.
The senior vice president of advanced development programs at Blue Origin said that the SDR moves Orbital Reef forward. The needs of the commercial marketplace and NASA are being met by us. Human space flight will be changed by Orbital Reef.
NASA is developing a space station. Blue Origin and Sierra Space are part of the Orbital Reef project. Blue Origin got $130 million in funding from NASA, while Sierra Space got over $1 billion in funding for the project last year. The companies are developing their own space stations.
The purpose of the SDR was to establish functional baselines for Orbital Reef. The system architecture of the proposed space station is sound according to NASA. Orbital Reef's system architecture and design will now be further developed by Blue Origin and Sierra Space.
Orbital Reef is being designed to house 10 astronauts in a volume of space comparable to the inside of the International Space Station. The station will host science experiments in a microgravity environment, provide a platform for developing space tech, entertain space tourists, and possibly serve as the venue for future film shoots. The construction of Orbital Reef is expected to start in the year of 2026.
The new space station will help extend our factories and cities into space, according to Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice. He said it was not only about tourism, but about using the microgravity factories that we will build just 250 miles above the Earth's surface to discover new things.
The world's first fully integrated commercial human spaceflight center and astronauts training academy will be built by Sierra Space. Three different kinds of astronauts will be trained by the academy. Sierra Space is working on a space plane that is designed to carry 12,000 pounds to low Earth orbit. Dream Chaser could be up and running by the year 2026.
The Russian cosmonaut was forced to abandon the spacewalk due to the power malfunction of his suit.
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