Blue Origin Clears Major Milestone For Futuristic Joint Orbital Reef Space Station
Blue Origin and Sierra Space are aiming to build the first commercially owned and operated space station, Orbital Reef. The space station is billed as offering unparalleled commerce, research, and tourism opportunities in outer space. It is slated to offer end-to-end services, which will include transportation and an onboard crew. Now, the Orbital Reef team has completed the SDR which lets NASA know that it is on-track to proceed into the design phase.
"We are on the doorstep of the most profound industrial revolution in human history. An industrial revolution marked by the transition from the last 60 years of space exploration to a future where humanity extends our factories and cities into space," commented Tom Vice, CEO of Sierra Space. He added, "The microgravity factories and services provided by Orbital Reef have the potential to revolutionize every industry and become a major growth contributor to the U.S. and world economies."
Orbital Reef has been touted since its conception as providing anyone with the opportunity to establish their own address in orbit (if they have enough money to do so). It will open up multiple new markets in space, such as research, industrial, international, and commercial opportunities. The space station is scheduled to be operational by 2027.