Nanoracks

Based in Texas, Nanoracks is a commercial space services provider that owns and operates private hardware on the International Space Station (ISS). As of end 2021, the company had launched over 1,300 research experiments, deployed over 300 small satellites. Nanoracks also has installed the Bishop Airlock, the first permanent commercial addition to ISS infrastructure, offering 5x the volume that can be moved in and out of the Space Station as of June 2022. Furthermore, its Outpost program is designed to transform used launch vehicle upper stages into controllable platforms across multiple orbits, thereby reducing space debris by giving a second mission to components in orbit. 

The company collaborated with Voyager Space (the majority stakeholder in Nanoracks) and Lockheed Martin to develop the first-ever free flying commercial space station, Starlab. The continuously crewed, commercial space station committed to undertaking advanced research, supporting commercial industrial activity, and ensuring continuing US presence and leadership in low-Earth orbit, was scheduled to fly in 2027 on a single voyage.

Key customer and partnerships

In December 2021, NASA awarded a USD 160 million contract to Nanoracks, in collaboration with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin, to design its Starlab commercial space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Development program.

Its key customers include several universities and learning institutions that use Nanoracks services to launch satellites. In addition, the company also caters to consumer brands giving them the opportunity to conduct business on the ISS (e.g.: Adidas’ Goodbye Gravity campaign), allowing them to develop products in microgravity or create a marketing campaign from the Space Station or launch a private astronaut. 

Funding and financials  

In December 2021, Nanoracks received a USD 160 million grant from NASA to develop designs of space stations and other commercial destinations in space.