Designed for long-duration presence, Northrop Grumman’s station will have the volume and payload capacity to support crew.
Commercial Space Station
Defining Possible in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO)
Proven in Space:
Building the Foundation for a New Space Economy
Under a NASA Space Act Agreement, Northrop Grumman’s vision for a commercial free-flying space station in low Earth orbit (LEO) focuses on a delivering a safe, reliable and cost-effective solution that will continue the work of the International Space Station (ISS), enabling a smooth transition to commercial operations. Northrop Grumman envisions an accessible marketplace, optimized and tailored to support a variety of customers across multiple markets.
Borrowing from its proven design and ongoing human spaceflight and space operations program, Northrop Grumman’s commercial space station concept employs adaptable technology, centered on a modular design, to enable more affordable future civil and commercial missions. When paired with Northrop Grumman’s deep heritage with commercial spacecraft, the result will be a cost-efficient, and dependable design that supports multiple markets with room for growth, well-suited to aid in the creation and sustainment of a vibrant LEO economy.
We recently completed major milestones with NASA to further bring our concept to life.
What Will You Do in LEO?
Northrop Grumman’s space station concept provides the foundation for a new economy in space.
Build in Space: Orbital Manufacturing
Long-duration microgravity environment with accessible volume, optimized to produce materials and hardware.
Discover in Space: Laboratory Facilities for Researchers
Science and technology facilities will be designed to augment research across a broad range of disciplines.
Visit Space: Space Tourism
The trek to space will no longer be limited. Northrop Grumman’s station will be a destination designed to support a new wave of space explorers.
Share Space: Educate and Entertain, and Create Impactful Messages
Northrop Grumman envisions the use of its space station as a platform for storytellers and teacher to inspire, engage and entertain the generations to come.
Station Specifications
Northrop Grumman’s concept for a commercial space station in LEO expands on its demonstrated and ongoing technical expertise in human spaceflight to create an adaptable destination and marketplace in space that can be customized to support the evolving needs of this new economy.
Preliminary design capabilities and features include, but are not limited to:
Facilities:
- Crew capacity of up to four in initial configuration
- Crew capacity of up to eight in second stage configuration
- Up to 6 docking ports for visiting vehicles and future expansion of new capabilities
- Science facilities, for example glovebox, cold stowage and incubators
- Full crew services, including food, clothing, facilities, transport, training and entertainment
Turn-key Services NG and its Partners are developing plans for:
- Tailored crew and payload training services
- Launch and recovery/return services
- Payload/science services, including delivery, facilities, power and data/communication
- Tailored crew and payload training services
- Launch and recovery/return services
- External payload services that allow orientation of payloads with variety of boresights
- Regularly scheduled crew and cargo services with proven providers
- On-orbit power generation distributed at regulated 120V and 28V bus lines
- Data interface support for multiple digital-serial and ethernet interfaces
- Communication pathways from 300 Mbps to >1 Gbps downlink rate capability
- Vibration isolation to support microgravity science payloads
- Visual documentation services
Commercial Space Station Podcast
Commercial Space Stations in the News
Northrop Grumman and Rhodium Scientific to Collaborate on Bio-Tech and Bio-Pharma Research in Low-Earth Orbit
Northrop Grumman and STAR HARBOR to Collaborate on Commercial Space Station Research and Astronaut Training
NASA, companies reject concerns over commercial space station development schedules
Space News (Photo: Nanoracks)
NASA, private companies count on market demand for future space stations after ISS
Space.com (Photo: Axiom Space)
Contact Us
Sean Sapolich
Human Explorations & Operations
Business Development Manager
Ellen Bock
Human Explorations & Operations
Business Development Manager