DENVER, Dec. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nanoracks, in
collaboration with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT],
has been awarded a $160 million
contract by NASA to design its Starlab commercial space station as
part of the agency's Commercial Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Development
program. Starlab will enable NASA's initiative to stimulate the
commercial space economy and provide science and crew capabilities
prior to the retirement of the International Space Station
(ISS).
"While today marks a major milestone for Nanoracks and our
Starlab team, the impact goes far beyond this award," said Dr.
Amela Wilson, CEO at Nanoracks. "To
receive this support from NASA validates over a decade of
Nanoracks' hard work forging commercial access to space, bringing
over 1300 commercial payloads from 30 nations to the ISS. This
opportunity opens far-reaching possibilities for critical research
and commercial industrial activity in LEO. We are honored to
be selected as one of three awardees to work with NASA, and we
cannot wait to bring our existing global commercial customer base
to Starlab."
The initial $160 million award to
Nanoracks is made via a funded Space Act Agreement through 2025.
This initial NASA-provided funding will be supplemented with
customer pre-buy opportunities and public-private partnerships.
Fully owned by Nanoracks, Starlab is planned to reach initial
operating capability in 2027, which ensures continuous human
presence in LEO by U.S. entities. NASA will have the opportunity to
purchase crew and payload services on Starlab through separate
services contracts with Nanoracks.
Nanoracks has unparalleled commercial experience on the ISS.
Joined by Voyager Space's sophisticated investment strategy and
expertise in operational integration and Lockheed Martin's
engineering knowledge and strategic vision, the Starlab team
presented a formidable program for the future of LEO
commercialization.
The basic elements of the Starlab space station include a large
inflatable habitat, designed and built by Lockheed Martin, a
metallic docking node, a power and propulsion element, a large
robotic arm for servicing cargo and payloads, and the George
Washington Carver (GWC) Science Park. The GWC Science Park is a
state-of-the-art laboratory system which will host a comprehensive
research, science, and manufacturing capability. Starlab will have
the capacity to continuously host up to four astronauts to conduct
critical science and research.
"Starlab is the confluence of Lockheed Martin's rich space
expertise and history, Nanoracks' innovation, and Voyager's
financial savvy. This team is equipped to aid NASA on its mission
to expand access to LEO and to enable a transformative commercial
space economy," said Lisa Callahan,
Vice President and General Manager, Commercial Civil Space at
Lockheed Martin.
Nanoracks will prime Starlab's development leveraging over a
decade of experience as the pathfinder and global leader in
commercial ISS utilization. Voyager Space, the majority shareholder
in Nanoracks, will lead strategy and capital investment, and
Lockheed Martin, a leader in developing and operating complex space
technology, will serve as the technical integrator of the new
advanced space station.
"Starlab's impact on space commercialization cannot be
understated," said Dylan Taylor,
Chairman and CEO at Voyager Space. "Today we are witnessing a major
economic shift, where space businesses are tangible, well
capitalized, and commercially sustainable. It takes a planet to
explore the universe, and we invite the global community to be part
of Starlab's success."
About Nanoracks
Nanoracks, a Voyager Space Company, is the world's leading
commercial space services provider. Nanoracks owns and operates
private hardware on the International Space Station and has
launched over 1,300 research experiments, deployed over 300 small
satellites, and installed the Bishop Airlock. Today, Nanoracks
leverages over a decade of experience to develop new commercial
space systems in direct response to customer needs. These space
systems include converting commercial launch vehicle upper stages
into functional secondary platforms, building new habitable space
stations, supplying payload and crew airlock systems and services
infrastructure, and more. Follow @Nanoracks on Twitter to
learn more.
About Voyager Space
Voyager Space is a global leader in space exploration. Voyager's
long-term mission is to create a vertically integrated, publicly
traded NewSpace company capable of delivering any space mission
humans can conceive. The firm's first-in-industry model is uniquely
tailored to support the growth needs of commercial space companies
by replacing traditional private capital models with a longer-term
approach that provides permanent capital. To learn more about
Voyager Space, please
visit: https://voyagerspace.com/ and
follow @VoyagerSH on Twitter.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda,
Maryland, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a global security
and aerospace company that employs approximately 114,000 people
worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design,
development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced
technology systems, products, and services. Please follow
@LMNews on Twitter for the latest announcements and news
across the corporation.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements." All
statements, other than statements of historical fact, including
those with respect to Voyager Space Inc.'s (the "Company's")
mission statement and growth strategy, are "forward-looking
statements." Although the Company's management believes that
such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee
that such expectations are, or will be, correct. These
forward-looking statements involve many risks and uncertainties,
which could cause the Company's future results to differ materially
from those anticipated. Potential risks and uncertainties
include, among others, general economic conditions and conditions
affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the
uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; and the
ability to obtain necessary financing on acceptable terms or at
all. Readers should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking
statements since they involve these known and unknown uncertainties
and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's
control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any
forward-looking statement reflects the Company's current views with
respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks,
uncertainties and assumptions relating to operations, results of
operations, growth strategy and liquidity. The Company assumes no
obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking
statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results
could differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes
available in the future.
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SOURCE Voyager Space; Nanoracks; Lockheed Martin