"Blue Origin's Orbital Reef Space Station Achieves NASA Contract Milestone"

Blue Origin's Orbital Reef, a potential replacement for the International Space Station, passed four key milestones, including tests on its regenerative system for recycling urine into drinking water. NASA awarded Blue Origin and Sierra Space $172 million to develop the space station, which aims to support human life and potentially accommodate space tourists. As the ISS ages and experiences issues, NASA is investing in commercial space stations to free up budget for lunar and Mars missions, with plans to transition away from the ISS by 2030.