Axiom’s module assembly sequence

The space station startup Axiom today announced that its latest funding round raised $525 million, exceeding significantly the $350 million predicted in February and indicating much greater investor enthusiasm for the company.

The close brought new capital onto Axiom Space’s cap table alongside the investors who anchored the round earlier this year. This positions the company to accelerate execution against its core programs: human spaceflight, spacesuits, and Axiom Station – the commercial successor to the International Space Station.

MUFG Bank, Ltd., Japan’s largest bank, joined the round as a new investor, alongside continued participation from existing backers.

With the $100 million previously raised, the company now has $625 million on hand for development, placing it in a strong financial position. It also shows, as does the large investments for the Vast and Starlab stations, that there is enough investor interest and commitment to build all three stations, even if NASA’s funding doesn’t provide all the necessary funds.

Below are my updated rankings of the five American space stations presently under development:

• Haven-1 and Haven-2, being built by Vast, with no NASA funds. The company plans to launch its single module Haven-1 demo station in 2027 for a three-year period during which it will be occupied by at least four 2-week-long manned missions, one of which will include a French astronaut. It planned manned mission to ISS in ’28 will also include a French astronaut. It has also made preliminary deals with Lithuania, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Japan, the Czech Republic, and the Maldives for possible astronaut flights to Haven-1. It has raised more than a billion in cash for this work, and has already tested an unmanned small demo module in orbit.
• Starlab, being built by a consortium led by Voyager Space, Airbus, and Northrop Grumman, with extensive partnership agreements with the European Space Agency, Mitsubishi, and others. Though no construction has yet begun on its NASA-approved design, it has raised $383 million in a public stock offering, the $217.5 million provided by NASA, and an unstated amount from private capital. It has also begun signing up station customers, as well as a number of companies to build the station’s hardware. It also plans a mission to ISS in ’28.
• Axiom, being built by Axiom, has launched four tourist flights to ISS, with the fourth carrying government passengers from India, Hungary, and Poland. A fifth mission is now planned for ’27. The company has now raised $625 million in private investment capital. Thales Alenia in Europe has been building its first two modules, with the first scheduled to launch in 2028. The company has also now established a subsidiary in Europe as well as signed Redwire to build that module’s solar panels.
• Thunderbird, proposed by the startup Max Space. It is building a smaller demo test station to launch in ’27 on a Falcon 9 rocket, and has begun work on its manufacturing facility at Kennedy in Florida. Its management includes one former NASA astronaut and one former member of the Bigelow space station team that built the first private orbiting inflatable modules, Genesis-1, Genesis-2, and BEAM (still operating on ISS).
• Orbital Reef, being built by a consortium led by Blue Origin and Sierra Space. This station looks increasingly dead in the water. Blue Origin has built almost nothing, as seems normal for this company. And while Sierra Space has successfully tested its inflatable modules, including a full scale version, its reputation is soured by its failure in getting its Dream Chaser cargo mini-shuttle launched to ISS.