​As the International Space Station mission nears completion, NASA is looking for new opportunities in the commercial sector to continue low-Earth orbit exploration. For this, he selected 7 companies that will expand their portfolio so that in the future they can build new spacecraft or even orbital stations: Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, Sierra Space, SpaceX, Special Aerospace Services, ThinkOrbital and Vast Space. NASA will not yet provide funds to these companies, but they will benefit from the experience of the American space agency in these projects.

Not all 7 companies will develop new spacecraft or orbital stations. For example, as part of this partnership, Northrop Grumman is working with NASA to develop robotic devices for future low-Earth orbit experiments designed around the Cygnus capsule and called the Persistent Platform. Although Northrop Grumman is no stranger to the space sector, the solid propellant engines for the SLS rocket were developed by the company, which also has the Antares rocket in its portfolio and is also working closely with Firefly Aerospace to develop its next iteration.

Blue Origin unveiled plans for a manned orbital capsule more than 10 years ago, but since NASA has since chosen SpaceX and Boeing to build the Dragon and Starliner capsules, Blue Origin has limited itself to the New Shepard suborbital capsule. On this occasion, the plans for this capsule may be restarted. Let’s not forget that NASA recently nominated Blue Origin to build the second lunar lander for the Artemis program, and Jeff Bezos’ company has plans for an Earth-orbiting space station called Orbital Reef.

However, all of Blue Origin’s plans hinge on the upcoming New Glenn launcher, which is currently on hold (and we don’t have much new information on its status either). The good news, however, is the recent test of the BE-4 engines used by New Glenn and United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket, which is months away from launch (probably sometime in 2024). This could be a sign that we are also getting closer to the time when we will see the first launch of New Glenn.

Sierra Space is no surprise on this list, as the company is preparing to launch an orbital plane, a scaled-down version of the space shuttle that will initially be used by NASA for cargo missions, resupplying the International Space Station. However, Sierra Space hopes to use the Dream Chaser for other orbital missions outside of the contract with the US space agency, and will continue to work on a version of this space plane called the DC-200 (40% larger than the Dream Chaser) that can also carry crew to orbit Not only would the space plane give the crew a smoother landing than a capsule, but the experiments on board would be able to reach the lab much faster, straight from the landing strip.

Dream Chaser is also part of Blue Origin’s plans for the Orbital Reef space station. The first flight of the Dream Chaser cargo variant is scheduled for next year aboard a Vulcan rocket, and 2026 could see the first flight of the DC-200 vehicle.

Special Aerospace Services and ThinkOrbital will work with NASA to develop robotic equipment that will be used in various orbital missions, from assembly of structures to maintenance operations and other technologies that will make life easier for future astronauts. For example, ThinkOrbital offers the Spherical Orbital Module, a module that can be assembled in orbit with a robotic arm and that can dock with vehicles like the Starship to form a large space station.

SpaceX could not be missing from this list: the new cooperation agreement with NASA also concerns the evolution of the Dragon capsule, as well as the use of Starship as an orbital launch vehicle and the possibility of using the upper stage of this rocket. for the future space station.

Vast Space is a young company, but a few weeks ago it announced that it was working with SpaceX to develop a small, single-module space station for future commercial flights. The company, which also includes a former SpaceX engineer, is also joining NASA’s efforts to develop new technologies for future low-Earth orbit flights.

The technologies offered by these companies are either new technologies or derived from existing projects that now have a chance to expand. Currently, each has its own private funds, but it is very likely that in the future NASA will select some of these projects, finance them and bring them to maturity.

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