All-private Axiom Space astronauts dock with Space Station
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Four private Axiom Space astronauts docked to the International Space Station after launching atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket less than 24 hours earlier.
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Axiom Space contracted to build an orbital movie studio
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Plans are in the works to build the first space-based “multipurpose entertainment and content studio,” which would be attached to the planned commercial segment of the International Space Station.
Read MoreBlue Origin announces ‘Orbital Reef’ commercial space station
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In partnership with Sierra Space, Blue Origin announced plans for a commercial space station to be built in low Earth orbit by the end of this decade.
Read MoreBigelow to take advantage of new ISS opportunities
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This month, NASA opened the International Space Station for more commercial opportunities, including the possibility for private astronauts to visit the outpost as early as next year. Bigelow Aerospace has already announced its intention to take advantage of this new shift in how the U.S. space agency conducts business in low Earth orbit.
Read MoreNASA, Boeing add option for extended Starliner crew flight test
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With the timeline for the first operational human flights for the Commercial Crew Program gradually slipping to the right and into 2019, Boeing last year proposed adding a third crew member to the first Crew Flight Test of the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station, NASA recently announced.
Read MoreBigelow’s piece of ISS gets approval for extended stay
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The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, better known as BEAM, has been given the green light to stay attached to the aft portion of the International Space Station’s Tranquility node for a further three years. The new contract began in November 2017, according to NASA.
Read MoreDream Chaser completes successful glide test
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Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser spaceplane test article successfully performed a free-flight test at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. The spacecraft is being developed to send cargo to the International Space Station.
The Nov. 11, 2017, automated test went as planned, according to an SNC statement. The flight occurred four years after the first glide test, which saw the otherwise perfect flight end with the craft flipping over upon landing when the left landing gear failed to deploy.
Read MoreNanoRacks' proposed airlock paves way for a more commercial ISS
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In early February, NASA accepted a proposal from NanoRacks to send the first commercial airlock to the International Space Station in 2019. This milestone is only the latest of many that has seen the orbiting laboratory gain increased commercial use.
Houston-based NanoRacks has been sending small satellites to be deployed out of the Japanese Kibo airlock for seven years now. The airlock, however, is only big enough to send out things that are about the combined size of a small refrigerator.
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