Voyager Space and Airbus enter Starlab partnership

This latest announcement builds on an agreement in January 2023, when Airbus was selected by Voyager to provide technical design support for Starlab.

“The International Space Station is widely regarded as the most successful platform for global cooperation in space history, and we are committed to building on this legacy as we move forward with Starlab,” said Matthew Kuta, president at Voyager Space.  We are establishing this joint venture to reliably meet the known demand from global space agencies while opening new opportunities for commercial users.”

MORE FROM AEROSPACE

Voyager was awarded a $160m Space Act Agreement (SAA) from NASA in December 2021 through Nanoracks. Part of NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program, the SAA sets the foundation to create Starlab, a continuously crewed, free-flying space station to serve NASA and a global customer base of space agencies and researchers.

“With a track record of innovation and technological firsts, Airbus prides itself on partnering with companies that are looking to change history,” said Jean-Marc Nasr, head of Space Systems at Airbus. “This transatlantic venture with footprints on both sides of the ocean aligns the interests of both ourselves and Voyager and our respective space agencies. This pioneers continued European and American leadership in space that takes humanity forward. Together our teams are focused on creating an unmatched space destination both technologically and as a business operation.”

In addition to the US entity, Starlab will have a European joint venture subsidiary to serve the European Space Agency (ESA) and its member state space agencies.

This announcement follows the completion of the Systems Requirements Review (SRR) in June, 2023, a design milestone in Starlab’s development that baselined the major space systems, technical readiness, and ability to meet NASA’s mission and safety requirements.