The European Space Agency has signed a new agreement with the developers of the commercial space station Starlab, with the aim of creating “sustainable space access for Europe,” the groups said in a statement.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ESA, Voyager Space and Airbus Defense and Space will initially focus on how ESA will use Starlab for astronaut missions and as a long-term research and commercial platform. The new agreement was signed during the European Space Summit in Seville, Spain.
The groups will also explore how ESA could use Starlab as part of an “end-to-end” ecosystem that includes European cargo and crew capsules, similar to how SpaceX’s Dragon capsule provides transportation for astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station. The European Space Agency announced earlier this week that it is creating a new initiative aimed at acquiring a cargo capsule from European companies, which could later be developed to transport crew.
The International Space Station is currently scheduled to retire in 2030. Instead of replacing the station with another government-run and funded station, NASA decided to essentially develop privately owned stations that could be used as anchor tenants. In December 2021, the space agency awarded more than $400 million to three private station plans, including Voyager Space Company’s Starlab.
This agreement with ESA is not entirely surprising; Starlab is a joint venture between Airbus and Voyager, so it already has strong ties to Europe (Airbus is a European multinational). In a statement, Airbus Defense and Space CEO Mike Schoellhorn noted this long-standing relationship: “Our cooperation on the next generation space station builds on a long and successful partnership between ESA and Airbus in developing and operating a wide range of manned aircraft.” and unmanned spacecraft.