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The European Space Agency has signed a new agreement with the developer of the Starlab commercial space station , with the aim of establishing a “ sustained access to space for Europe , ” the groups allege in a command .
The memorandum of understanding ( MOU ) between ESA , Voyager Space and Airbus Defense and Space will initially focus on how ESA could use Starlab for astronaut missions and as a long - condition research and commercial-grade platform . The newfangled agreement was signed during the European Space Summit in Seville , Spain .
The group will also explore how ESA could use Starlab as one part of an “ end - to - ending ” ecosystem that includes European consignment and crew capsules , similar to how SpaceX ’s Dragon capsule furnish astronaut and load transportation to and from the International Space Station . ESA declare earlier this week that it was found a novel initiative aimed at soliciting a cargo capsule from European company , which could later on be developed to transport crew .
The International Space Station is currently slated to retire in 2030 . Instead of replacing the station with another government - running and funded post , NASA decide to essentially seed the development of privately - owned place that it could employ as an anchor renter . In December 2021 , the space agency awardedover $ 400 million totalto three secret place plans , including Voyager Space ’s Starlab .
This accord with ESA is not totally a surprise ; Starlab is a joint venture between Airbus and Voyager , so it already has strong link to Europe ( Airbus is a European multinational ) . In a statement , the CEO of Airbus Defence and Space Mike Schoellhorn note this long - standing family relationship : “ Our coaction on this next - generation place station builds on a long and successful partnership between ESA and Airbus in develop and run a wide range of crewed and uncrewed spacecraft , ” he said .
