Voyager Space and Airbus today announced they have completed the transaction to create Starlab Space, a transatlantic joint venture that will design, build and operate the Starlab commercial space station. Alongside the joint venture execution, the Starlab team completed the station-level System Definition Review (SDR), a critical milestone assessing the technical and programmatic accountability of the program.
In August 2023, Voyager and Airbus first announced an agreement to form a transatlantic joint venture to support a continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit and a seamless transition of microgravity science and research opportunities in the post-International Space Station era. In October 2023, Voyager announced a teaming agreement with Northrop Grumman to develop fully autonomous rendezvous and docking technology for Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft and provide cargo resupply services for Starlab.
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"The International Space Station inspired global cooperation to a level never imagined possible in space," said Jean-Marc Nasr, Head of Space Systems at Airbus. "Starlab will be no different. This joint venture solidifies our unwavering commitment to reimagining the future of commercial space alongside Voyager, anchoring Starlab to European and American ambitions and pioneering the future of humanity in space."
In addition to the US entity, which has authorities to operate in the United States and with US government agencies, Starlab is expected to have a European affiliated joint venture to directly serve the European Space Agency and its member state space agencies.
Nanoracks, part of Voyager's Exploration Segment, was awarded the largest of three Commercial LEO Destinations Space Act Agreements from NASA in December 2021 to create Starlab, a continuously crewed, free-flying space station to serve NASA and a global customer base of space agencies and researchers. The Starlab team has advanced through multiple milestones over the past year, including the successful completion of the SDR and the earlier completion of both the on-orbit science park and the station-level System Requirements Review.
