Commercial Space Stations Are Getting Real

How CLD is moving from concepts to execution

Date: January 19, 2025
An Ursa Cortex Blog by Akash Iyer

With the International Space Station expected to retire around 2030, commercial space stations are no longer a distant idea. Teams are now building full-scale hardware, locking down requirements, and demonstrating that they can attract customers beyond NASA. Two recent updates highlight how the Commercial LEO Destinations effort is becoming a real engineering and business race.

Starlab Brings Human Factors Front and Center

Source: Houston Chronicle (Dec 10, 2025)

Starlab Space has completed a three-story, full-scale mockup of its commercial space station at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The purpose is not aesthetics, but usability. Astronauts can now stress-test layouts, procedures, and emergency responses long before the station ever flies.

The mockup is organized vertically. The first level houses life support systems, exercise equipment, and hygiene facilities. The second level is dedicated to research and workspaces. The top level contains crew living quarters, including eight bunks and an Earth-facing “winter garden” window area designed to improve livability on long missions.

The core engineering theme is human factors and operations design. In orbit, the best layout is the one crews can operate reliably under stress. The article emphasizes building muscle memory through training, such as knowing where critical equipment lives and how to reach it quickly during emergencies. Starlab is targeting a 2029 launch aboard Starship, positioning itself as a potential successor once the ISS is retired.

Commercial LEO Destinations Are a Business Test Too

Source: Payload (Jan 26, 2026)

Payload’s field guide frames Commercial LEO Destinations as a business-model challenge as much as a technical one. NASA wants at least one ISS successor, but unlike the ISS, future stations will only be partially government-funded. Providers must secure private capital and attract non-NASA customers to make the economics work.

The article recaps NASA’s initial 2021 awards and highlights how requirements have evolved. A notable 2025 shift refocused early goals toward hosting four-person crews for month-long missions rather than maintaining continuous crew presence. This change reflects both budget realities and a desire to lower barriers for early commercial operations.

The guide also outlines the leading contenders and their timelines. Vast is pursuing Haven-1, Axiom is following a multi-module path, and Starlab, backed by Voyager and Airbus, is targeting a 2029 deployment. The near-term catalyst is NASA’s Phase 2 awards, expected to go to at least two companies with a combined value of roughly $1.5 billion. These decisions will signal which teams NASA believes can realistically deliver.

Fun Fact

Starlab’s emphasis on crew livability is so detailed that the full-scale mockup prominently features two toilets. For a station roughly the size of a two-bedroom apartment, that detail is treated as a serious design win.

Published in Ursa Cortex: The Ursa Majors Group Blog