Mitsubishi Corporation joins the Starlab project

The Japanese group Mitsubishi Corporation became a partner in the Starlab space station project. The Japanese company has been a founding partner of the Starlab Space LCC company in charge of the project, which is now a joint venture between Voyager Space, Airbus Space and Defense and Mitsubishi Corporation.

Thus the Starlab space station became the first commercial project with partners on three continents (USA, Europe and Japan). The project was the result of a partnership between Voyager Space and Airbus, which also recently merged with Northrop Grumman, after abandoning the project of its station, but not as a partner in the company as Mitsubishi did.

Starlab is one of two projects selected by NASA for the Commercial LEO Destination (CLD) program, along with Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef station.

Starlab

On January 31, it was announced that the Starlab space station will be launched by Starship in low Earth orbit, a solution due to the eight-meter diameter of the main module of this station. Since the project was announced in 2021, it has been stated that the station would reach orbit in one launch. So using a Starship is now an almost mandatory option, given that the station consists of two pre-assembled modules, one for living and one for service.

By announcing the alliance of Mitsubishi and the Starlab project, the three companies confirmed that the goal is to expand the research and technology development opportunities that Starlab will provide to the Japanese industry. However, the Japanese company’s experience in the consumer market, the only one of the three to be active in that segment, was also cited as an important competency for the future of commercial space travel.

“We are excited to join Starlab, a world-class team including Airbus and Voyager, to advance innovation and drive progress in space exploration,” he said. Mikito Nakaniwa, COO Division, Infrastructure, Fleet and Aerospace Division of Mitsubishi Corporation. “Together, Mitsubishi Corporation and Starlab aim to open up the commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) market and create lasting value for global businesses and industries.”