Dear Friends,
Last week, NASA announced the awardees for an ongoing effort to foster commercial activity in space. This effort allows 13 companies to study the future of commercial human spaceflight in low-Earth orbit, including long-term opportunities for the International Space Station.
I’m pleased to share that NanoRacks is one of these awardees.
This study is not only a big step for NanoRacks, but a big step for the commercial space ecosystem. Today, we are the largest commercial user of the International Space Station and are proud of the impact we’ve made to help foster this ecosystem and bring customers from all over the world into to orbit. This study will allow us to take our vision to the next step and detail the viability for habitable and automated platforms for low-Earth orbit.
Through this award, we will investigate the commercial case for the repurposing of in-space hardware via our NanoRacks Space Outpost Program, a concept we have already proven to be technically feasible from our NASA NextSTEP Phase II award. We will work with three types of partners in this study including: hardware providers, finance partners, and our current and future customers. What was once science fiction in our industry is now fast becoming a reality—commercial outposts at low-cost for factories, warehouses, hotels, office buildings, and more!
We’re on the cusp of a new-age in space, and with our cost-effective approach, we’re confident in the future of the commercial space marketplace, from low-Earth orbit, to the Moon, and into deep space.
The full announcement from NASA can be found here: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-invests-in-concepts-for-a-vibrant-future-commercial-space-economy
Jeffrey Manber
CEO, NanoRacks