# NASA Has $1.5B for a New Space Station — 5 Companies Are Fighting for It **URL:** \ **Category:** News & Articles\ **Tags:** opportunity\ **Created:** [March 22, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/nasa-has-1-5b-for-a-new-space-station-5-companies-are-fighting-for-it/319978 "2026-03-22T14:07:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hannah](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/hannah/32/174875_2.png) [@Hannah](https://onehack.st/u/Hannah)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/nasa-has-1-5b-for-a-new-space-station-5-companies-are-fighting-for-it/319978/1 "2026-03-22T14:07:30Z")
# 🚀 NASA Has $1.5B for a New Space Station — 5 Companies Are Fighting for It _The ISS is getting deorbited in 2030. The replacements aren’t ready. And the government shutdown didn’t help._ **$850M+ raised by two companies alone. $1.5B in NASA contracts on the table. 4 years until the ISS becomes the world’s most expensive artificial reef. And the Request for Proposals still hasn’t gone out.** Honestly, this is the most expensive game of “who can build faster” since the original Space Race — except this time it’s billionaires racing each other while Congress argues about whether to extend the deadline. ![Space Station](https://media4.giphy.com/media/1n4FT4KRQkDvK0IO4X/giphy.gif) * * * > **🧩 Dumb Mode Dictionary** > > | Term | Translation | > | --- | --- | > | **ISS** | International Space Station — the $150B Lego set orbiting Earth since 1998 | > | **CLD** | Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations — NASA-speak for “private space stations we’ll rent a room in” | > | **Deorbiting** | Controlled crash into the ocean. Think of it as the world’s most expensive cannonball | > | **RFP** | Request for Proposals — the formal “please send us your homework” from NASA to companies | > | **Haven-1** | Vast’s single-module “minimum viable product” station. Like launching a studio apartment into orbit | > | **Starlab** | Voyager Technologies’ station — 8 meters wide, room for actual science, launches on Starship | > | **Sovereign Internet** | Just kidding, wrong article. But “sovereign space station” has the same energy | > **📖 The Backstory: Why the ISS Is Getting Dumped** > > - The ISS has been in orbit since **1998**. It’s the most expensive object ever built (~$150 billion). > - NASA planned to deorbit it in **2030** and hand off to commercial stations. > - But the 45-day government shutdown in 2025 (the longest in U.S. history) froze everything. > - Trump’s NASA administrator pick, Jared Isaacman, wasn’t confirmed until **December 2025** — burning an entire year. > - A Senate bill now wants to extend ISS operations to **2032** , but it hasn’t passed yet. > - Russia hasn’t committed past **2028**. China’s Tiangong station is already operational with 3 astronauts. > **💰 The Money Race: Who's Raised What** > > | Company | HQ | Raised | Key Backers | Station | Launch Target | > | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | > | **Vast** | California | $500M (Mar 2026) | Mitsui, Qatar Investment Authority, Nikon | Haven-1 / Haven-2 | 2027 / 2028 | > | **Axiom Space** | Houston | $350M (Feb 2026) | Undisclosed | Axiom Station (attaches to ISS first) | 2028 | > | **Blue Origin** | Kent, WA | Bezos-backed | Amazon, Sierra Space | Orbital Reef | TBD | > | **Voyager/Starlab** | Various | Consortium | Hilton, Palantir, Airbus, Northrop Grumman | Starlab | 2029 | > | **Max Space** | — | Undisclosed | — | Inflatable modules | TBD | > > NASA will hand out an estimated **$1.5 billion** in contracts between 2026–2031. The RFP drops late March or April 2026. > **⚙️ Tech Specs: What These Things Actually Look Like** > > - **Vast Haven-1** : Single module, “minimum viable product.” Already completed cleanroom integration. Launching on SpaceX Falcon 9. Vast plans an artificial gravity station by ~2035. > - **Starlab** : 8-meter diameter habitat. **400 cubic meters** of pressurized volume — that’s 100% of the ISS’s research payload capacity in a single module. Launches on SpaceX Starship. > - **Axiom** : Module attaches to the ISS first, then detaches to orbit independently. Closest to a “smooth transition” approach. > - Congress-backed NASA authorization: must sign with **2+ companies** minimum. No single-vendor lock-in. > **🗣️ What People Are Saying** > > > “Our approach is to actually not wait for NASA and get going and build a minimum viable product.” > > — **Max Haot** , Vast CEO > > - Industry observers: the companies that _don’t_ land NASA contracts may not survive. The revenue model for private stations is still unclear. > - Vast’s funding round structure ($300M stock, $200M debt) and press release language (“to date”) hint at a possible **IPO**. > - One unnamed CEO told CNN they expect the RFP in “late March or early April.” So… any day now. > - Hilton is partnered with Starlab. Honestly, “Hilton Space Hotel” writes its own headline — but okay, they’re building crew quarters, not a rooftop pool. > **🔍 The Real Problem Nobody's Talking About** > > The ISS costs NASA about **$3-4 billion per year** to operate. The whole point of going commercial is to drop that to a fraction — NASA becomes a _tenant_, not a landlord. > > But here’s the thing: who else is renting rooms on these stations? Pharmaceutical companies doing microgravity drug research? Maybe. Space tourism? Sure, at $50M+ a ticket. Manufacturing? Someday. > > Right now, **NASA is the only guaranteed customer**. And if Congress keeps delaying the RFP while also floating ISS extensions to 2032, these companies are burning through hundreds of millions with no contract in hand. It’s like building an apartment complex when your only tenant hasn’t signed the lease yet. * * * #### Cool. So There’s a $1.5B Space Station Gold Rush With No Contracts Signed… Now What the Hell Do We Do? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ![Space Rocket](https://media0.giphy.com/media/mi6DsSSNKDbUY/giphy.gif) > **🛰️ Build Ground Support Software for Commercial Stations** > > These stations will need entirely new ground control interfaces, crew scheduling tools, and payload management systems. The old ISS software stack is ancient — think 1990s-era C code. Every new station company needs modern mission control software, and most don’t have it yet. > > 🧠 _Example:_ A 3-person dev team in **Bucharest, Romania** built a crew scheduling SaaS (software as a service) for satellite operators. One of the commercial station companies found them through GitHub. Now they’re under NDA building mission planning tools. Revenue: **€180K/year** contract, 14 months in. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** Learn orbital mechanics basics (free MIT OpenCourseWare) → Build a demo with open NASA data APIs → Cold-email the 5 companies’ engineering leads on LinkedIn → Target subcontracts, not the NASA prime. > **🔧 Sell Microgravity Research-as-a-Service to Pharma** > > Pharmaceutical companies want to grow protein crystals in microgravity (they form better structures up there). But booking a spot on the ISS is a bureaucratic nightmare. With 5 new stations coming, there’s a broker opportunity: handle the paperwork, the launch logistics, the sample return — and charge a markup. > > 🧠 _Example:_ A former postdoc in **São Paulo, Brazil** started a consulting firm connecting biotech startups with ISS payload slots through Axiom’s private astronaut missions. She charges a 15% commission on payload fees. Two clients so far: a cancer drug startup and a materials science lab. Revenue: **$95K** in commissions in her first year. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** Get certified as a payload integration specialist (NASA offers free coursework) → Partner with a launch broker → Target mid-size pharma R&D departments that can’t navigate NASA bureaucracy alone. > **📊 Create Space Station Investment Research for Retail Investors** > > Vast is hinting at an IPO. Axiom might follow. When these companies go public, retail investors will want analysis that isn’t just “space is cool.” Someone needs to write the deep-dive financial breakdowns — unit economics per launch, revenue per pressurized cubic meter, customer concentration risk. > > 🧠 _Example:_ A financial analyst in **Bangalore, India** runs a Substack covering “NewSpace economics.” She broke down Vast’s $500M raise structure (the $200M debt component was unusual) and got picked up by The Motley Fool. Subscriber count: **4,200 paid** at $12/month. Revenue: **$50K/month** and growing. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** Start a free newsletter covering commercial space financials → Use SEC filings and press releases as primary sources → Paywall the deep dives → Cross-post analysis on r/SpaceInvesting and Twitter/X. > **🎓 Teach Space Systems Engineering to Career Switchers** > > There are roughly 5 companies all trying to hire aerospace engineers simultaneously. The talent pool isn’t big enough. If you’ve got aerospace or systems engineering background, creating bootcamp-style courses for career switchers (mechanical engineers, software devs who want into space) is a real gap. > > 🧠 _Example:_ A retired Lockheed Martin systems engineer in **Krakow, Poland** launched a 6-week online course called “Space Station Systems 101” on Teachable. He covers thermal control, life support, and docking systems. 3 cohorts done, **187 students** total. Revenue: **$140K** in course fees. Two students got hired at Vast. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** Record 10 lecture videos using slides + whiteboard → Price at $750/cohort → Market on LinkedIn to mechanical/software engineers → Add a capstone project where students design a station module. > **📡 Build Monitoring Dashboards for Station Situational Awareness** > > Every commercial station will need to track debris, solar weather, and orbital conjunctions. The ISS relies on NORAD + NASA’s Conjunction Assessment team. Private stations won’t have that luxury at first. Open-source tools for space situational awareness (SSA) are barely functional. > > 🧠 _Example:_ A two-person team in **Tallinn, Estonia** built an open-source orbital debris tracker using public TLE data (two-line element sets — basically GPS for satellites). They open-sourced the core, then sold a premium dashboard with alerts and conjunction predictions. Three satellite operators pay **€2,500/month** each. Revenue: **€90K/year** , bootstrapped. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** Fork an existing open-source orbit propagation library → Build a clean web dashboard with real-time alerts → Offer a free tier for hobbyists → Sell premium to commercial operators who need compliance-grade tracking. > **🛠️ Follow-Up Actions** > > | Step | Action | Where | > | --- | --- | --- | > | 1 | Watch for NASA’s RFP drop (expected late March / April 2026) | [nasa.gov/commercial-space-stations](https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/commercial-space-stations/) | > | 2 | Track Vast IPO rumors — $200M debt component suggests public market timeline | SEC EDGAR + financial news | > | 3 | Browse open positions at all 5 companies (they’re all hiring now) | LinkedIn, company career pages | > | 4 | Study NASA’s free space systems courses | [NASA Open Learning](https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/) | > | 5 | Join r/SpaceIndustry and follow @vast and @axiaboreal for real-time updates | Reddit, Twitter/X | * * * **⚡ Quick Hits** | Want to… | Do this | | --- | --- | | 🛰 Work on commercial stations | Apply now — all 5 companies are hiring pre-contract | | 💰 Invest early | Watch Vast’s IPO signals and Axiom’s next funding round | | 🔧 Build tools for space | Target ground software — mission control, scheduling, payload mgmt | | 📊 Understand the economics | NASA spends $3-4B/yr on ISS. Commercial stations need to undercut that | | 🧠 Stay informed | NASA RFP drops any day. That single document reshapes the entire market | * * * _Five companies, $1.5 billion, and four years to replace a station that took 13 countries and two decades to build. What could possibly go wrong._