Commercial Space Stations: Who Will Replace the ISS After 2030?

The International Space Station has been continuously occupied since November 2000, but its operational life is winding down. NASA plans to deorbit ISS around 2030-2031, and the agency is investing in commercial replacements. Four commercial stations are competing to become the next human habitats in low Earth orbit. As of September 2026, none of them is in orbit yet.

Axiom Space

• Station: Axiom Station initially attaches to ISS, then detaches as a free-flying station
• Status: Under a plan revised in December 2024, the first module (the Payload, Power and Thermal Module) goes to the ISS first and can depart as early as 2028, joining a second module as a free-flying station. In January 2026 Axiom's Peggy Whitson said the first module is slated to launch in early 2028, with the second following months later. No Axiom module is in orbit yet
• NASA relationship: holds NASA's agreement for a commercial module port on the ISS, separate from the Commercial LEO Destinations awards
• Approach: Incremental build: first modules attach to ISS for testing, then separate. Offers private astronaut missions to ISS as revenue bridge
• Differentiator: Only company with modules going to ISS first, providing operational experience before going free-flying

Vast

• Station: Haven-1 (single-module station) → Haven-2 (multi-module station)
• Status: Haven-1 is targeted for no earlier than Q1 2027 on a Falcon 9, after a delay from late 2026 announced in January 2026. It would be the first commercial single-module station
• Funding: Funded mainly by founder Jed McCaleb until March 2026, when Vast raised $500 million ($300 million of Series A equity and $200 million of debt)
• Approach: Artificial gravity via rotation is a long-term vision. Haven-1 validates core systems. SpaceX Crew Dragon for crew transport
• Differentiator: Building its first station with private money rather than a NASA development award

Orbital Reef (Blue Origin + Sierra Space)

• Station: Orbital Reef is a mixed-use space business park
• Partners: Blue Origin, Sierra Space, Boeing, Redwire, Genesis Engineering
• Status: Development phase; one of three NASA Commercial LEO Destinations Phase 1 awards ($130 million, December 2021). Reports since late 2023 have described the Blue Origin and Sierra Space partnership as uncertain while both companies focus on other programs
• Approach: Multi-tenant model: rent space for research, manufacturing, tourism, and media
• Differentiator: The broadest partnership coalition. A crewed version of Sierra Space's Dream Chaser is planned but not yet built; the cargo version has not yet flown

Starlab (Voyager Technologies + Airbus)

• Station: Starlab is a single-launch station built from rigid metal modules (an earlier inflatable design was dropped)
• Partners: Voyager Technologies, Airbus Defence and Space, Northrop Grumman (Cygnus docking), and others
• Status: Completed NASA's commercial critical design review in February 2026. Launch on SpaceX Starship targeted for no earlier than 2029. Received $160 million in the December 2021 Phase 1 awards, which NASA raised to $217.5 million in January 2024
• Approach: European partnership brings ESA customer base. Single-launch deployment simplifies logistics
• Differentiator: Strongest international partnership. Airbus brings decades of ISS module experience (Columbus)

What This Means for the Industry

The transition from government-owned to commercially-operated stations represents a fundamental shift. It opens LEO to manufacturing, media production, pharmaceutical research, and space tourism at scale.

Track space station developments at SpaceNexus Space Stations.