Starlab Space and the European Space Agency have signed a joint Letter of Intent outlining preliminary terms for future European use of the Starlab Space Station. The agreement builds on a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2023 and sets a framework for potential ESA astronaut missions, research payloads and European operations aboard Starlab as the agency plans for life after the International Space Station. This culmination agreement is the result of continuous work assessing ESA’s payloads, post-ISS needs and the broader European market to ensure there is no loss of capability during the ISS transition and that European cargo and future crew services are integrated into Starlab’s plans.
“This Letter of Intent represents the culmination of years of collaboration between Starlab and the European Space Agency, building on our earlier Memorandum of Understanding for astronaut and payload services and advancing to a more defined framework based on detailed technical, operational and commercial assessments. Through this Letter of Intent, ESA and Starlab are establishing a clear pathway for future European utilization of low Earth orbit, including crew transportation, astronaut missions, research payloads and in-space services. Starlab is proud to be a long-term and trusted partner to ESA, committed to ensuring that Europe maintains reliable access to low Earth orbit while enabling world-class science, technology development and commercial innovation for decades to come.”
— Marshall Smith, CEO, Starlab Space
Why It Matters
For more than two decades, the ISS has anchored Europe’s microgravity research and astronaut program. As NASA and its partners prepare to retire the station, ESA has been assessing how European science, technology development and astronaut missions can continue on the commercial platforms that follow it. This LoI is one part of that assessment: a preliminary, nonexclusive framework for what a Starlab-ESA relationship could look like, not a final commitment.
“Europe is strengthening its autonomy while we are preparing for the post-ISS era. This cooperation letter provides a basis to explore, on a nonexclusive basis, how future commercial stations could support European science and astronaut missions while considering the potential role of European transportation capabilities. Any next steps will be guided by the decisions of ESA Member States.”
— Josef Aschbacher, Director General, European Space Agency
What’s on the Table
The preliminary terms cover a range of potential European activities aboard Starlab: astronaut missions, reserved payload volume and facilities, and use of European cargo and future crew transportation capabilities. On the laboratory side, the LoI points to the potential use of Starlab’s glovebox facilities, cold and ambient stowage, incubation facilities, plant habitat research and other onboard lab functions. This is the kind of hands-on microgravity work that has defined Europe’s ISS research program for more than 20 years. Starlab’s Internal Payload Platforms support up to 130 Middeck Locker Equivalents, giving the station 100% of the ISS’s current research payload capacity.
Part of a Larger Pattern
The ESA agreement doesn’t stand alone. European industry is already built into Starlab’s ownership structure. Airbus, which leads the station’s human spaceflight infrastructure, and Space Applications Services, which develops payload hardware and software, are both European partners in the joint venture. Together, they drive not only station development but also market development and partnerships across governments and local economies. European customers are already active on the platform, too: DLR, the German Aerospace Center, has signed on as a Starlab customer, and Switzerland’s Center for Space and Aviation has an active call for proposals underway with Starlab and is working to grow Starlab’s Swiss footprint. The University of St. Gallen has partnered with Starlab for the last few years, with courses sponsored and mentored by Starlab. Add Mitsubishi Corporation and MDA Space, Starlab’s Japanese and Canadian partners, and the station’s international footprint extends well beyond any single government agreement, forming a truly global ecosystem.
“Across Europe, Starlab is building far more than a network of customers. We are forming deeply integrated partnerships with universities and science parks, national space agencies, tier-one pharmaceutical companies, implementation partners and entrepreneurs working to spin out the next generation of space-enabled ventures. Each partner brings unique capabilities, infrastructure and market access to the ecosystem. This is not a traditional client relationship; it is a shared commitment to build a sustainable commercial space economy in which Europe plays a central and enduring role. This is mirrored regionally as Starlab, through its JV partners, is both terrestrial and space segment focused to close end-to-end services for everyone.”
— Brad Henderson, Chief Commercial Officer, Starlab Space
What Happens Next
The LoI is not the first step, but it is not the last either. As Aschbacher noted, next steps depend on ESA’s Member States. For Starlab, work to accommodate ESA’s requirements began with the 2023 MOU and post-ISS contract and has continued as both organizations work through the technical, operational and commercial details of what European utilization could look like.
That relationship sits inside a broader question Europe is already asking: what capabilities and expertise built up over two decades on the ISS are worth carrying into the next era of low Earth orbit?
Starlab is committed to supporting a sustainable transition to a commercial low Earth orbit economy, and the ESA agreement reflects that goal from the European side of the table. As ESA and its Member States continue to weigh their options for the post-ISS era, Starlab will keep working with European partners to build out the pathways this LoI lays the groundwork for.
Read the full announcement: Starlab Space and European Space Agency Advance Framework for Use of the Starlab
About Starlab
Starlab Space is a U.S.-led, global joint venture among Voyager Technologies (NYSE: VOYG), Airbus, Mitsubishi Corporation, MDA Space, Palantir Technologies and Space Applications Services, with strategic partners including Hilton, Journey, Northrop Grumman and The Ohio State University. Starlab is developing a next-generation, AI-enabled commercial space station, aiming to ensure continued human presence in low Earth orbit and a seamless transition of microgravity science and research alongside the retirement of the International Space Station.