The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) invested hundreds of millions of dollars in potential replacements for the International Space Station (ISS), with Jeff Bezos’ Orbital Reef passing crucial milestones, including a urine recycling system, as the aging ISS faced maintenance issues and a planned retirement by 2030.

On March 20, NASA reported that Orbital Reef passed four key milestones for some of its most crucial technology, including a system to recycle future astronauts‘ and tourists’ urine.

Orbital Reef is a proposed low Earth orbit space station being designed by Blue Origin and Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Sierra Space for commercial space activities and space tourism uses. 

NASA-backed Orbital Reef, designed by Jeff Bezos’ company, achieved vital milestones, including a urine recycling system

Image credits: Lex Fridman

Blue Origin is an American aerospace manufacturer, defense contractor, launch service provider, and space technologies company founded by Jeff Bezos.

Angela Hart, manager of NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program, said in NASA’s announcement: “These milestones are critical to ensuring that a commercial destination can support human life.”

The milestones involved passing a series of tests on Orbital Reef’s regenerative system. This system will provide clean air and water for humans to breathe and drink while on the space station, Business Insider (BI) reported.

Image credits: Blue origin

Some of the tests included the system’s ability to remove impurities from the air, recover urine for recycling, and maintain a water tank, NASA reported.

The ISS has a similar system that recycles water and oxygen from, as NASA puts it: “normal human activities.”

ISS Commander Chris Hadfield said in a 2013 video: “Before you cringe at the thought of drinking your leftover wash water and your leftover urine, keep in mind that the water that we end up with is purer than most of the water that you drink on a daily basis at home.”

NASA invested hundreds of millions of dollars in potential replacements for the International Space Station (ISS)

Image credits: Blue origin

According to BI, astronauts on the ISS have been drinking each other’s sanitized and recycled urine for approximately 15 years, as it has helped decrease the amount of water NASA would need to launch into space to keep astronauts alive.

NASA awarded Blue Origin and Sierra Space $172 million as part of its goal to develop commercialized, American-led space stations in low Earth orbit that could replace the ISS after it retires, BI reported.

Blue Origin stated on its website: “Think spacious modules with large windows to view Earth, our blue origin while experiencing the thrill of weightlessness in complete comfort.”

Image credits: Blue origin

The Biden administration has committed to keep the ISS, which costs $3 billion per year to maintain, running until at least 2030.

By then, NASA aims to already have made the transition to at least one privately owned space station, Science Alert reported. If all goes according to plan, the empty and decommissioned ISS will push itself into Earth’s atmosphere and burn up as it plummets toward the ocean.

Readers were divided about NASA’s involvement with Bezos

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