No assembly required: Proposed space station fits into one launch

This single-launch space station would save lots of time and money

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The takeaway: A Florida-based startup has announced plans for a commercial space station that could be deployed using a single rocket. The Thunderbird Station from Max Space is meant to expedite the entire process by reducing the number of trips to space involved in launching a space station, lowering costs in the the process.

The newly introduced platform fits into a single package and is designed to expand in space to a volume of 350 cubic meters – roughly a third the volume of the International Space Station (1,005 cubic meters).

The Thunderbird Station can accommodate up to four full-time crew members or up to eight astronauts for short stays. Individual astronaut quarters provide privacy for those staying onboard long-term, while a configurable commons area helps accommodate mission work or facilitate off-the-clock relaxation.

Max Space says the station will initially have more than 60 payload lockers, and is fully reconfigurable. A glove box, a microscope, plant growth chambers and other research equipment will be available on the station to assist with research, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and other scientific experiments.

As Space News highlights, Max Space brought in former NASA astronaut Nicole Stott to help lead the project. CEO Saleem Miyan said Stott has been instrumental in helping their design and engineering teams come up with a plan for what the internal living spaces should look like.

The company is working on a small-scale prototype that they hope to get off the ground in early 2027. A key goal of that project will be field testing the module's orbital debris protection system, ensuring that it can withstand the harsh environment of space. The defenses have held up to ground-based stress tests but have not yet been tested in space.

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Max Space has set a tentative launch date of 2029 for the full-size module, with plans to send it to space aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. Should it prove successful, the expandable module technology could find its way into other applications involving the Moon or even Mars.