Blue Origin wants to launch a commercial space station

The commercial space station is set to be launched by the end of the decade by the private American space company Blue Origin, which is owned by the founder of the online retailer Amazon Jeff Bezos. The BBC's news server drew attention to the company's announcement. The published promotional material states that the commercially oriented Orbital Reef station will be able to host up to ten people. Blue Origin will work with Sierra Space and Boeing to build the station. The nearly 3,000-square-foot space station will provide customers with an ideal place to "shoot weightless movies" or "conduct cutting-edge research." It will include a "space hotel". At a press conference to launch the initiative, the management of Blue Origin and Sierra Space refused to provide an estimate of construction costs. The project seems to have secured a lot of funding from Bezos, the BBC wrote. The world's second richest man has previously pledged $ 1 billion (over $ 22 billion) a year to Blue Origin. The announcement came at a time when the US space agency NASA is looking for proposals to replace the 20-year-old International Space Station (ISS). Although its financing is guaranteed at least until 2030, the station needs repairs immediately. Russian officials have previously warned that their astronauts could leave the station by 2025 due to fears that outdated equipment could cause a serious accident. In response, NASA announced earlier this year that it plans to award contracts to private space companies for $ 400 million to help the agency replace the aging base. There will probably be a fierce competition for these contracts, the BBC wrote. The launch of its own space base into low orbit by 2027 announced earlier this week a partnership between Nanoracks, Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin. As for Blue Origin, the launch of its rocket New Shepard, during which Bezos or Star Trek star actor William Shatner flew into space, gained significant media attention. However, the company faces allegations from former employees about sexual harassment in the workplace and for failing to take serious safety issues into account. Last month, Blue Origin lost a lucrative $ 2.9 billion contract from NASA to Space X billionaire Elon Musk. It is one of the main competitors in the commercial space race.