Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin wants to build a commercial space station together with Sierra Space.

It is one of about a dozen companies fighting for billions at stake from NASA.

Companies will be able to conduct experiments and tourists will be able to visit the Orbital Reef, as the space station is called.

”We’re working very hard to ensure that Orbital Reef is not just for those who have had access to space so far. The idea is for it to be the footprint of humanity in orbit around Earth, which means every country, company and person in the world,” said Brent Sherwood, vice president of advanced development programs at Blue Origin, in a video presentation. 

If everything goes as planned, Orbital Reef is expected to be completed in the second half of the 2020s.

Companies such as Boeing, Genesis and Redwire are also involved in the project, as well as Arizona State University.

Interest from the private sector in building space stations has intensified as the International Space Station (ISS) ages. The US space agency NASA also announced this spring that it may consider paying up to $400 million (3.4 billion SEK) during the fourth quarter of this year to up to four consortia to begin work on private space stations. 

Just a few days ago, Nanoracks announced that it had formed a group with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin with the ambition to create the world's first commercial space station, to be called Starlab. This ambition is also shared by Axiom, whose planned station is intended to be twice the size of the International Space Station.

About a dozen applications had been received in September, Nasa said. CNBC.

In addition to the ISS, China is completing the Tiangong space station, which is in orbit and currently houses three astronauts.

Source: TT