Despite earlier reports of Blue Origin’s plans to focus on conquering the moon, it continues to develop systems for a future private space station to be placed in low Earth orbit. In 6-7 years, the new station will replace the aging ISS, and Blue Origin should have time to understand all the nuances of the project and implement it “iron”.

It was learned that the life support system of the future private space station has been created and tested. As confirmed by NASA, the system in the form of individual nodes has proven its ability to operate within given limits to provide water and air for breathing to astronauts and tourists on the future orbital station. The water and air regeneration system was also tested. This is one of the most important elements of the orbital station, literally everything depends on the quality and stability of its operation.

The proposed Orbital Reef station’s life support system will purify the air and water, providing astronauts with drinkable water and breathable air. The regeneration system must be capable of purifying nearly all air and water of human waste to reduce the amount of material that must be transported from Earth by cargo ships.

In the current phase of development and prototyping, the station’s life support system has undergone four critical tests. According to NASA, the tests covered various aspects of the system’s operation, including control of trace contaminants, oxidation of contaminants in water, recovery of water from urine, and storage of water in tanks. Trace contaminant control testing showed that Orbital Reef’s life support system was able to filter potentially hazardous impurities from the air. The aim was to use the station’s water source in the most efficient way with water regeneration, urine regeneration and water tank tests.

The continuation of Blue Origin’s work on the Orbital Reef station project is contrary to previous reports about the alleged unspoken demand of Jeff Bezos (Jeff Bezos) to shorten or minimize work on this project and move on to projects to deliver people to the moon and create new ones. a moon base. However, as you can see, studies on Orbital Reef are still continuing. On the other hand, even on the Moon, the life support system will be a life support system, so it is not a fact that Blue Origin is working only for a low-orbit project.

NASA allocated $500 million in 2022 to a program for commercial development of low-Earth orbit designed to facilitate the deployment of private stations. The ISS will be retired in 2030, and the agency wants to make sure there is a facility near Earth where astronauts can perform important microgravity experiments. Blue Origin is not the only company working with NASA on this project. Axiom Space, Starlab Space and other companies are also working on this program.

These projects are currently in the design and development phase. This will expand NASA funding for one or more projects in 2026. This will give companies just a few years to start building the station to replace the ISS in the early 2030s.