Featured Image Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/Blue Origin
Topics: Business, Science, Space, Technology, Travel, Jeff Bezos
Ellie Kemp
Topics: Business, Science, Space, Technology, Travel, Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos' $10 billion 'space park' that's set to replace the International Space Station will allow tourists on board.
The ISS is set to be destroyed after 2030, with Elon Musk's space company helping nudge it back down to Earth.
SpaceX has been awarded a $843,000,000 contract by NASA to help with the mammoth task.
But Bezos' Blue Origin has also earned a $130 million contract to develop its Orbital Reef space station.
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You can take a look at it in more detail below:
In partnership with Sierra Space - as well as, unsurprisingly, Amazon, Boeing, and others - Orbital Reef will accommodate commercial space activities and tourists.
Forget working from home, working from space could be one day become the norm.
The 8,200 cubic foot station will almost be the same size as the ISS, and the station will initially be able to support 10 people on board, but it will expand with additional modules.
Dubbed a 'mixed-use business park,' it will boast 'spacious modules with large windows to view Earth'.
Blue Origin said it will feature 'distinct quarters... for personal and business use' in a 'safe and inspiring environment.'
The space company added: "We aim to provide a truly extraordinary experience, whether you are in orbit for research, logistics, tourism, or other applications."
Its space science modules are among its most important features, helping to continue the ground-breaking research of those on the ISS.
Blue Origin said its labs would feature 'space-based robotics to promote research in cutting-edge medicine, space biology, and other emerging fields'.
The station will also house an Astro Garden for fresh produce cultivation, utilizing innovative 'plant pillows' developed by Sierra Space to grow vegetables in microgravity.
Meanwhile, its living quarters will start out with 'hammock-like sleeping arrangements,' with more luxurious accommodation planned as the project progresses.
Then there's the Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) module, which will be home to dining facilities, a gym and access to WiFi for video calls back home.
Amazon is set to sort logistics and supply chain management, while Sierra Space will provide modules and a runway-landing Dream Chaser spaceplane for crew and cargo transportation.
A Boeing Starliner crew spacecraft will also help transport personnel, while the company will supply science modules, space station operations and maintenance.
Orbital Reef is projected to launch in 2027 and is projected to cost upwards of $10 billion in total.
It's due to be fully operational by 2030 - just before the ISS is brought to its end.