Designing a space station in 2026: commercial programs, engineering disciplines, and career paths

The International Space Station will not operate forever. After more than 25 years of continuous habitation, the ISS is approaching its structural and operational limits, with retirement currently planned around 2030. What comes next is already being designed and built by commercial companies, funded in part by NASA's Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program. In 2026, at least three major commercial space station programs are in active development: Axiom Station, Orbital Reef (Blue Origin and Sierra Space), and Starlab (Voyager Space and Airbus). MIT Technology Review named commercial space stations a breakthrough technology for 2026, recognizing that this is the year the hardware transitions from paper designs to flight-ready systems.

For engineers, this transition from government-owned to commercially-operated space stations represents one of the most significant career opportunities in human spaceflight since the ISS was first conceived in the 1990s. This guide covers what these programs are building, what engineering disciplines they need, and how to position yourself for a career in station design.

The three leading commercial station programs

Axiom Station

Axiom Space, headquartered in Houston, is building a modular station that will initially attach to the ISS before separating to become free-flying. The architecture involves four planned modules:

• Payload Power Thermal (PPT) module: The first element to launch, providing power and thermal management
• Hab-1: Crew habitat module
• Research & Manufacturing module: Laboratory and in-space production
• Crew module: Additional crew quarters and life support

Axiom's approach is incremental — each module attaches to the ISS, leveraging its existing infrastructure, then the combined Axiom segment detaches when the ISS retires. This reduces the risk compared to launching a fully standalone station.

Orbital Reef

Orbital Reef is a collaboration between Blue Origin and Sierra Space, designed as a mixed-use space business park. The station architecture features:

• Core module (Blue Origin): Primary structure with multiple large windows, power, and thermal systems
• LIFE habitat (Sierra Space): An inflatable module that expands to provide large crew volume
• Dream Chaser (Sierra Space): Cargo and crew transportation via lifting body spacecraft
• Science and operations modules: Dedicated laboratory and logistics space

Orbital Reef passed its System Definition Review in 2024 and is in full-scale development. Blue Origin's Orbital Reef passed a key design review, confirming the architecture can move to detailed design and manufacturing.

Starlab

Voyager Space and Airbus are developing Starlab, a single-launch station designed to be deployed in one piece aboard SpaceX's Starship rocket. This approach eliminates the complexity of multi-module assembly in orbit. Starlab features:

• Crew capacity for four astronauts
• George Washington Carver Science Park for research
• External robotic arm for servicing and payload operations
• Expected launch in 2028

Starlab moved to full-scale development in 2025, and Airbus brings decades of ISS module experience from building Columbus and the ATV cargo vehicle.

Engineering disciplines needed for station design

Designing a space station requires one of the broadest sets of engineering disciplines of any single project. Here are the major fields and what they work on:

Discipline	Station Design Role	2026 Salary Range
Structural engineering	Pressure vessel design, micrometeorite shielding, launch loads	$95,000–$155,000
Thermal engineering	Heat rejection radiators, cold plates, MLI insulation	$92,000–$148,000
Life support (ECLSS)	Air revitalization, water recovery, CO2 removal	$100,000–$160,000
GNC engineering	Attitude control, orbit maintenance, docking navigation	$105,000–$165,000
Power systems	Solar arrays, batteries, power distribution	$90,000–$145,000
Avionics	Flight computers, data handling, communications	$95,000–$155,000
Human factors	Crew workspace design, ergonomics, habitability	$85,000–$130,000
Flight software	Autonomous operations, fault management, ground control interface	$110,000–$170,000
Mechanisms	Docking systems, hatches, berthing mechanisms, robotic arms	$90,000–$145,000
Materials science	Radiation shielding, outgassing control, aging analysis	$88,000–$140,000
Systems engineering	Requirements, interfaces, verification, safety	$100,000–$165,000
Safety and mission assurance	Hazard analysis, FMEA, probabilistic risk assessment	$95,000–$150,000

How station design differs from satellite design

Engineers coming from satellite programs often assume space station work is similar but larger. In reality, station design introduces several fundamentally different challenges:

Human rating: Every system must be designed to protect crew life. This means redundancy levels, safety margins, and verification rigor that far exceed robotic spacecraft requirements. A power system that would be acceptable on an uncrewed satellite may need three levels of fault tolerance on a crewed station.

Long operational life: Stations are designed for 15–30 year lifetimes, compared to 5–15 years for most satellites. This requires designing for maintenance, replacement, and upgradeability — concepts that are foreign to most satellite programs where everything must work perfectly without human intervention.

Crew interactions: The crew is both the customer and the operator. Human factors engineering — workspace layout, lighting, noise, vibration, air quality — directly affects crew health, productivity, and psychological well-being. Station designers must think about how humans will live and work in the space for months at a time.

Visiting vehicle interfaces: Stations must accommodate multiple visiting vehicles for crew transport and cargo delivery. The docking and berthing systems, airlock designs, and logistics management are complex subsystems with no analog in satellite work.

Career paths into station design

Path 1: NASA experience first. Work at NASA Johnson Space Center (ISS program office), NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (ECLSS, structural), or a NASA ISS contractor (Boeing, Jacobs, KBR) for 3–5 years, then transition to Axiom, Blue Origin, or Voyager Space. This is the most common path because ISS operational experience is directly applicable.

Path 2: Direct hire from university. Axiom, Blue Origin, and Sierra Space all hire entry-level engineers. Target structural, thermal, ECLSS, or systems engineering roles. A master's thesis related to space habitation, life support, or human spaceflight systems will differentiate you from other applicants.

Path 3: Cross-over from submarine or pressure vessel design. Navy submarine engineers and pressure vessel designers have skills that transfer directly to station structural design. The physics of maintaining a pressurized environment in a hostile external environment are analogous, and commercial station companies actively recruit from this background.

Explore careers at Axiom Space, Blue Origin, Sierra Space, or browse all space station jobs on Zero G Talent.

Frequently asked questions

What will replace the International Space Station?

NASA's plan is for commercial space stations to replace the ISS. Three programs are in active development: Axiom Station (Axiom Space), Orbital Reef (Blue Origin and Sierra Space), and Starlab (Voyager Space and Airbus). NASA will be a customer of these stations rather than an owner/operator. The transition is expected to occur between 2028 and 2030, with the ISS being deorbited via a controlled reentry using a SpaceX-built deorbit vehicle.

What degree do I need to work on space station design?

Most engineering roles require a bachelor's degree minimum in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, chemical, or systems engineering. Human factors roles may accept industrial engineering or psychology degrees with relevant experience. For ECLSS and life support roles, chemical engineering and environmental engineering are particularly valued. A master's degree improves your competitiveness, especially for systems engineering and safety roles, but is not strictly required at all companies.

Which company should I target for space station careers?

It depends on your engineering specialty and career stage. Axiom Space (Houston) is furthest along in module construction and offers the most ISS-heritage work. Blue Origin (Kent, WA) offers the broadest engineering scope through the Orbital Reef program. Sierra Space (Louisville, CO) focuses on inflatable habitats and the Dream Chaser vehicle. Starlab (Houston) has Airbus heritage and international collaboration. All four are actively hiring in 2026.

How many jobs will commercial space stations create?

Conservative estimates suggest commercial station programs will create 3,000–5,000 direct engineering and operations jobs by 2030, plus an additional 8,000–12,000 support and supplier jobs. This is a substantial increase from the current ISS workforce, because multiple stations operating simultaneously require separate engineering, operations, and management teams. The jobs are concentrated in Houston, the Seattle metro area, Louisville, and Huntsville.

Can I work on space station design without prior space experience?

Yes. Commercial station companies hire engineers from adjacent industries — submarine design, pressure vessel manufacturing, HVAC systems, medical device design, and commercial aviation. The key transferable skills are working with human-rated or safety-critical systems, understanding redundancy and fault tolerance, and experience with rigorous verification and validation processes. Highlight these skills in your application even if your prior work was not in space.