The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed an agreement with Airbus and Voyager Space to build and operate the private space station, Starlab, paving the way for the deployment of European astronauts in space after the International Space Station (ISS) is decommissioned.
“This agreement reflects ESA’s ambition to enable a smooth transition from the International Space Station towards the sustained exploitation of human and robotic infrastructures in low-Earth orbit after 2030, including through commercial services,” the ESA announced in a press release on Thursday.
The memorandum of understanding between the agency and the US and European companies was signed during ESA’s space summit held in Seville, Spain, on Monday.
This partnership anticipates access for the ESA and its Member States to Starlab for astronaut missions, long-term research activity and contributions to research projects – particularly in life sciences and robotics.
It also entails the establishment of a “complete ecosystem” that will ensure that the station can accommodate a future crewed or cargo spacecraft developed by ESA, Airbus specified in a statement.
Starlab, due to be launched into orbit in a single blast-off targeted for 2028, will have a diameter of 8 metres, almost twice the size of the ISS, but half its volume.
Voyager Space, an American company, has been awarded $160 million by NASA to develop the station. In August, it formed a joint venture with Airbus, known as Starlab Space, to build and operate the station.
On 1 October, the ESA reached a similar agreement with Axiom Space, which is also developing a station with NASA support and involvement from the Franco-Italian industrial participant, Thales Alenia Space.
