Northrop Grumman Joins Forces with Nanoracks for 'Starlab' Commercial Space Station

Northrop Grumman has withdrawn from its solo plans to develop a commercial space station and has partnered with Nanoracks, a subsidiary of Voyager Space, to collaborate on the "Starlab" project. Under this new venture, Northrop Grumman will provide cargo transportation services using the upgraded Cygnus spacecraft, which will feature autonomous docking capabilities. The partnership aims to support the development of advanced docking systems and push forward transportation operations in low Earth orbit (LEO). Northrop Grumman's decision to join forces with Nanoracks comes after receiving a green rating for its technical approach but a yellow rating for its business plan in NASA's evaluation of free-flying space station proposals.