{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T05:38:58Z","timestamp":1788845938156,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":11,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,29]],"date-time":"2024-03-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1711670400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,29]],"date-time":"2024-03-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1711670400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["npj Microgravity"],"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title><jats:p>As the International Space Station comes to the end of a transformative era of in-space research, NASA\u2019s Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destinations (CLD) Program aims to catalyze a new generation of platforms with co-investment from the private sector, preventing a potential gap in research performed in LEO, while building a robust LEO economy. In this paper, we provide insight into the CLD Program focusing on Orbital Reef, describing its operational and technical characteristics as well as new opportunities it may enable. Achieving about a third of the pressurized volume of the ISS with the launch of a single pressurized module and growing to support hundreds of Middeck Locker Equivalents (MLE) in passive and active payloads internally and externally, Orbital Reef will enable government, academic, and commercial institutions to continue and expand upon research and development (R&amp;D) efforts currently performed on ISS. Additionally, it will enable nascent markets to establish their operations in space, by initiating new lines of research and technology development and the implementation of new ventures and visions. Using Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn heavy launch system, Sierra Space\u2019s cargo and crew Dream Chaser\u00ae vehicles, and Boeing\u2019s Starliner crew vehicle, and expertise from Amazon\/Amazon Supply Chain, Arizona State University, Genesis Engineering, and Redwire, Orbital Reef is being designed to address ISS-era transportation logistics challenges. Finally, this manuscript describes some of the expected challenges from the ISS-to-CLD transition, and provides guidance on how researchers in academia and industry can shape the future of commercial destinations and work performed in LEO.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1038\/s41526-024-00363-x","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,29]],"date-time":"2024-03-29T18:02:14Z","timestamp":1711735334000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Orbital Reef and commercial low Earth orbit destinations\u2014upcoming space research opportunities"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4301-9620","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luis","family":"Zea","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2852-6277","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Liz","family":"Warren","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7184-6749","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tara","family":"Ruttley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Todd","family":"Mosher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Kelsey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erika","family":"Wagner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"363_CR1","unstructured":"NASA. International Space Station Facts and Figures. https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/facts-and-figures (2023)."},{"key":"363_CR2","unstructured":"NASA. 20 Breakthroughs from 20 Years of Science aboard the International Space Station. https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/station\/research\/news\/iss-20-years-20-breakthroughs (2020)."},{"key":"363_CR3","unstructured":"NASA. Commercial Destinations Development in LEO. https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/leo-economy\/commercial-destinations (2021)."},{"key":"363_CR4","unstructured":"NASA. NASA Provides Updated International Space Station Transition Plan. https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/nasa-provides-updated-international-space-station-transition-plan (2022)."},{"key":"363_CR5","unstructured":"NASA. NASA Selects Companies to Develop Commercial Destinations in Space. https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/press-release\/nasa-selects-companies-to-develop-commercial-destinations-in-space (2021)."},{"key":"363_CR6","unstructured":"NASA. Commercial Destinations in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/leo-economy\/commercial-destinations-in-low-earth-orbit (2023)."},{"key":"363_CR7","unstructured":"NASA. NASA Selects First Commercial Destination Module for International Space Station. https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/press-release\/nasa-selects-first-commercial-destination-module-for-international-space-station (2020)."},{"key":"363_CR8","unstructured":"Mosher, T. & Kelsey, L. Orbital Reef: Redefining Commercial Space Station Operations, 17th International Conference on Space Operations, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 6 - 10 March 2023 (2023)."},{"key":"363_CR9","unstructured":"Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum. Radio Address to the Nation on the Space Program. https:\/\/www.reaganlibrary.gov\/archives\/speech\/radio-address-nation-space-program (n.d.)."},{"key":"363_CR10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Thriving in Space: Ensuring the Future of Biological and Physical Sciences Research: A Decadal Survey for 2023-2032 (The National Academies Press, 2023). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.17226\/26750.","DOI":"10.17226\/26750"},{"key":"363_CR11","unstructured":"National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). National Low Earth Orbit Research and Development Strategy. https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/NATIONAL-LEO-RD-STRATEGY-033123.pdf) (2023)."}],"container-title":["npj Microgravity"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41526-024-00363-x.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41526-024-00363-x","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41526-024-00363-x.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,29]],"date-time":"2024-03-29T18:04:05Z","timestamp":1711735445000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41526-024-00363-x"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,29]]},"references-count":11,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12]]}},"alternative-id":["363"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41526-024-00363-x","relation":{},"ISSN":["2373-8065"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2373-8065","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,29]]},"assertion":[{"value":"22 June 2023","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"13 February 2024","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"29 March 2024","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"L.Z. and L.K. are employed by Sierra Space Corporation. L.W., T.R., T.M., and E.W. are employed by Blue Origin, LLC.","order":1,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"43"}}