Commercial Space Stations and Agile Systems Engineering

Presentation

This talk covers commercial space stations and how industry applies agile systems engineering to build them. NASA is partnering with private companies to develop low Earth orbit (LEO) stations to succeed the International Space Station (ISS), which is scheduled for retirement by 2030.

Through Space Act Agreements, NASA provides funding while shifting toward a customer role rather than operator. The talk outlines NASA’s phased approach and highlights key Phase 1 efforts including:

• Axiom Space
• Vast (Haven-1, followed by Haven-2)
• Blue Origin (Orbital Reef)
• Starlab

Phase 2 emphasizes faster, more affordable, crew-tended missions (four crew for 30 days) to sustain a continuous, cost-effective U.S. presence for microgravity research after ISS operations end.

Speaker

Walter E. Hammond is a space transportation systems expert and prolific author with 45+ years of experience in systems engineering and integration, systems analysis and trade studies, system requirements, verification, and validation. He wrote the four-book Beyond the Saga of Rocket Science series (2017–2021), authored AIAA reference books on space transportation systems, and serves as Adjunct Faculty in UCF’s Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Department, where he teaches a senior capstone course.

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