NASA Reveals 5 Next Space Station Generations! Goodbye ISS...

SpaceX is making significant strides with Starship aiming to assist Humanity in achieving crucial goals such as reaching the moon or Mars but did you know beyond these notable missions a Starship has the potential to serve as a space station sounds wild doesn't it however this scenario could very well become a reality potentially emerging as a leading habitat for humans in space once the ISS completes its mission NASA notably is highly intrigued by the prospect of the Starship space station project and intends to collaborate extensively with SpaceX and its development so what sets the Starship space station apart from the others what role might it fulfill for both NASA and SpaceX in the future let's find out in today's episode of alphatech don't forget to hit the Subscribe button if you don't want to miss any of our episodes the next goal 150,000 subscribers now we really do strive to improve in every way possible but we still need your support thanks so much the space race is entering a critical phase with Nations taking increasingly ambitious steps towards Milestones like establishing a presence on the moon and Paving the way for human missions to Mars amid the heightened competition the United States remains a leader in many aspects of space exploration however it faces a looming challenge that could impact its dominance the upcoming retirement of the International Space Station for over two decades the ISS has been a Lynch pin of us Space strategy serving as a hub for ground breaking research international collaboration and technological innovation its eventual decommissioning presents a significant obstacle as the absence of a replacement station would leave a void in low earth orbit capabilities weakening US influence and disrupting ongoing advancements in Science and Industry to address this challenge NASA and its commercial partners are racing against the clock with the ISS nearing the end of its operational life its mission is clear to develop and deploy at least to one new space station capable of continuing its vital role recognizing the importance of this endeavor NASA's awarded contracts to private companies incentivizing Innovation and accelerating progress towards building Next Generation orbital platforms this collaborative effort is not just about filling the Gap left by the ISS it's about ensuring the United States remains at the Forefront of space exploration and laying the groundwork for sustainable operations in orbit while advancing toward broader goals the contract titled collaboration for commercial space capabilities CCSC 2 was officially awarded by NASA to several companies in June of last year to develop space stations that'll serve as replacements for the ISS first contract was awarded to SpaceX with both NASA and SpaceX expressing H Starship will provide a versatile platform for research and Commercial activities in orbit these Starships boast the capacity surpassing that of the ISS and share a size resemblance with the external fuel fuel tank of the previous space shuttle interestingly many space station proposals Drew inspiration from the external fuel tanks design the construction process is poised to be more streamlined with the use of spacex's Starships thanks to their adaptable steel framework that facilitates welding cutting and modifications the transformative potential of spacex's Starship extends to astronaut support calculations regarding space radiation propos low orbits below approximately 500 km situated near the equator exhibit minimum radiation levels that little to no radiation shielding would be necessary imagine a colossal wheel formed by a fleet of SpaceX Starships capable of rotation to simulate gravity positioned strategically to ensure safe radiation levels the ample interior volume of these space stations allows for the efficient arrangement of supplies around the hall to augment radiation protection by utilizing a 1 M thick Shield the space required for shielding would fill the entirety of a small capsule yet with with a 900 cubic met volume 90% of the Interior Space would remain even after allocating space for one meter of shielding considering a cost of $20 million each 50 Starships would amount to just $1 billion within this budget accommodations for 350 people can be realized following the standards of the International Space Station notably while the ISS was initially designed for a crew of seven each Starship can comfortably house a similar number with the potential to expand to host of up to 450 occupants in 2009 the ISS made history with its 9 person occupancy during a transition it's worth highlighting that the ISS incurred an expenditure of about hundred billion whereas the concept of a significantly larger Starship station boasting a volume of a h hundredfold could come to fruition at an estimated cost of approximately $2 billion if this works this is definitely a masterpiece of space technology do you think like we do if so comment yes to show us ranking second on NASA's list of commercial space stations is the station created by axium space axium space is accelerating its ambitious timeline to establish a private space station announcing in December that its free flying platform could begin operations as early as 2028 the Houston based company had originally aimed for 2030 but revised its plans to expedite the station's deployment our ongoing assessment of the assembly sequence revealed opportunities for flexibility and enhancements said Mark gley Axiom station program manager and coo in a company statement December 18th with the International Space Station needing to accommodate a deorbit vehicle we were able to accelerate this work to meet both our goals and program requirements axium space plans to reconstruct its private station by launching five modular elements a payload power and thermal PPT module an airlock a research manufacturing Hub and two habitat modules originally the habitat 1 module was set to be the first to launch to the ISS with the remaining modules following in sequence however the new plan will prioritize the PPT module allowing axum to advance its timeline significantly under the updated assembly sequence the PTT module will be the first to launch the ISS this module serve as the initial platform for the axium station and could detach to operate as a free flying station as early as 2028 once in Free Flight the PPT module will act as the backbone of the station while additional elements are assembled in orbit after the the BBT module becomes operational axium will launch and attach the habitat 1 module followed by the airlock habitat 2 module and finally the research and Manufacturing Hub this revised approach not only accelerates axum's plans but also supports NASA's requirements for the transition from the ISS to commercial platforms Angela Hart manager of NASA's commercial low earth orbit development program noted the assembly sequence has been coordinated with NASA to ensure a smooth transition to Leo supporting both NASA and axum's goal for maintaining a continuous human presence in space with its revised timeline and strategic adjustments axium space is positioning itself to lead the next era of low earth orbit operations Bridging the Gap between the ISS and a thriving commercial space industry as for the Interior axium Space Station promises a design that Fosters multi-dimensional Freedom the design is marked by an egg-like structure a comfortable and friendly egg which would feature materials and colors stemming from a fetal Universe the walls are sprinkled with hundreds of Nano LEDs with changing colors as a continuation of the views of the universe through the large Windows just as all shades of lights and colors of day and night the egg will also live to the mood and biorhythm of its osmotic inhabitant the third space station that NASA signed a contract with none other than the newly commercial space station Haven one and vast one was designed by a newly established private company vast a Pioneer in space habitation technology under this agreement vast will collaborate with nas on Technologies and operations required for micro gravity and artificial gravity stations this includes Haven 1 commercial destination which will provide a microgravity environment for crew research and inspace Manufacturing and the first crude mission called vast one to the platform Haven wants the module 10 m long and about 3.8 m in diameter sized to fit inside a standard Falcon 9 payload fairing the 14 ton module provides 70 cubic meters of pressurized volume in 15 KW of power it has a docking port at one end and a large window at the other the company also plans to build a much larger space station consisting of modules launched by the SpaceX Starship the large space station will be 100 m long consisting of modules 7 and diameter it'll be capable of sustaining 40 people and it spin to create artificial gravity recently vas signed an agreement with SpaceX that includes two missions to send private astronauts to the ISS using the Falcon 9 and crew Dragon space spacecraft these missions not only strengthen our expertise in human space flight operations and collaboration with NASA but also position vast as a leading Contender to deliver the Next Generation successor to the ISS advancing the future of human space exploration said vas CEO Max how so far NASA's approved a total of four private astronaut missions all proposed by Houston based axium space with SpaceX serving as the hardware partner axiim completed three of these missions and plans to launch the fourth called ax4 next spring NASA has yet to approve vast planned Pam flights but SpaceX stated it would be ready to execute them when the time comes with bold moves supported by substantial Financial backing vast plans to launch its space station as early next year meaning 2026 let's wait and see what unfolds could vast outpace Axiom another upcoming commercial destination in Leo is the starlab space station this station a collaborative effort between Lockheed Voyager and more recently Airbus defense a major private agency in Europe is poised to become a prominent fixture in Space the core components of Star Lab comprises spacious and flavorable habitat meticulously crafted by locked Martin however with the entry of airbud into the equation they'll take on the responsibility of constructing the primary habitation module for the starlab space station supplanting Lockheed Martin in this ccial role Lockheed originally was to have built an inflatable pressurized habitat for Star laab similar to the expandable modules once developed by the now defunct Bigalow airspace the Airbus built module will be metallic and rigid in form the redesign of the metallic module result in a quicker development schedule and lower costs the metallic habitat will be similar to those that already make up the ISS besides these components are other Essential Elements such as metallic docking node a power and propulsion element a large robotic arm for serviceing cargo and payloads a state-ofthe-art laboratory system to host comprehensive research science and Manufacturing capability star laab will be able to continuously host up to four astronauts for conducting critical science and research Voyager says the Star Lab station could be ready for launch in 2030 in a presentation at the space tech expo conference in Breman Germany last November Manford wman vice president of Leo and suborbital programs at aabus stated that the module has a diameter of over 8 MERS exceeding what can be accommodated by current operational or in development Vehicles except for Starship working with SpaceX though means dealing with a potential competitor SpaceX was one of the companies that received an unfunded NASA space act agreement in June through the agency's collaborations for commercial space capabilities to initiative SpaceX agreement according to NASA involves studying the use of Starship as a commercial space station after nanx and locked Martin had their own commercial space station Jeff Bezos threw his hat in the ring in December 2021 NASA awarded bezos's company BW origin $130 million to develop their own designed for a commercial space station blue Origins orbital reef is a proposed space station aimed at greater accessibility and inclusivity in collaboration with blue origin the Aerospace company CR space is jointly developing this space station at its core blue origin orbital Reef envisions a luxurious space Hotel concept redefining the Paradigm of travel and accommodation with accommodations for up to 400 this proposed orbital Hotel offers unprecedent opportunity for space tourists as office spaces that employees can co-work in rooms for them to sleep in after a day's work Halls to lays about or sit as they snack and other outer space Greenery to be able to enjoy nature still while being outside of Earth moreover orbital wreath also opens its doors to research facilities equipped with machinery and Technology to support researchers and developers in their space exploration Endeavors but how can people be flown there in the first place Sierra space and blue origin have thought ahead of this question are underway to produce their hypersonic space plane Dreamchaser as orbital Reef's buddy the space plan is being developed as a multi-mission vehicle capable of supporting the low earth orbit project at the end of 2023 rumors about a rift between blue origin and Sierra space made headlines but both parties denied the claims nevertheless we still hope this Innovative space station concept pertains its efficiency much like the speedy delivery of Amazon's online orders rather than succumbing to the delays that have played blue Origins rocket plans that's it for today's episode thanks for watching watching and see you next time