Construction Of The Starlab Space Station Shows Progress

Starlab images in low-Earth orbit (photo: dock. NASA)

JAKARTA Starlab, NASA's funded commercial space station, has completed four major development stages. This achievement shows that Starlab's development is progressing a lot.

The four important milestones that Starlab has reached are the completion of an initial design review of habitat structural test articles, system integration, integrated operations, and habitat structural test plans. These four are part of NASA's Space Law Agreement.

Angela Hart, NASA's Low Commercial Earth Orbit Development Program Manager, said that this achievement was an indicator determining Starlab's readiness. After construction is complete, Starlab will replace the International Space Station (ISS).

"As we look forward to the future of low Earth orbit, every important achievement is one step closer to creating a dynamic and commercially resilient low Earth orbit," Hart said.

The initial design review of the habitat structural test article was completed earlier this year. By engineering the station's residential module for astronauts, the design of the Starlab project has been tested and verified in order to operate like the ISS.

Starlab will also conduct structural test articles that include testing the qualifications for the development unit and welding verification to static load pressure testing. In addition, the integrated operation and system integration review have also been completed.

This review includes system and station architecture updates, segment interfaces, and program targets. There are still several stages that need Starlab to be completed, one of which is completing a preliminary design review and stage 1 safety review by the end of this year.