Humans have long dreamed of living among the stars, and for two decades hundreds of us have done so aboard the International Space Station (ISS). But a new era is about to begin in which private companies operate orbital outposts—with the promise of much greater access to space than before.
The ISS is aging and is expected to be brought down from orbit into the ocean in 2031. To replace it, NASA has awarded more than $500 million to several companies to develop private space stations, while others have built versions on their own.Â
The first of those, Vast Space from California, plans to launch its Haven-1 space station in May 2026 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. If all goes to plan, it will initially support crews of four people staying aboard the bus-size habitat for 10 days. Paying customers will be able to experience life in microgravity and conduct research such as growing plants and testing drugs.
On its heels will be Axiom Space’s outpost, the Axiom Station, consisting of five modules (or rooms). It’s designed to look like a boutique hotel and is expected to launch in 2028. Voyager Space aims to launch its version, called Starlab, the same year, and Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef space station plans to follow in 2030.
While the cost of a stay aboard any of these outposts has not been released, expect ticket prices in the tens of millions of dollars at first. However, if these private space stations are successful and profitable, they could eventually increase access to space for researchers, national space agencies, and maybe even firms that wish to manufacture products in space.
Further afield, these space stations might be the precursor to our living beyond Earth’s orbit. Blue Origin’s founder, Jeff Bezos, has long posited that millions of people will one day live and work in space, while both NASA and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have been vocal about the aim of living on the moon and Mars. This could be the year that life among the stars becomes a little more achievable.
Ren Ecosystem