Jane Edwards
Amazon and its cloud computing business have joined a team led by Sierra Space and Blue Origin to help build a commercial space station to support space research and exploration activities in low-Earth orbit.
Amazon Web Services will support the Orbital Reef station development project by providing cloud services and tools for space station design and development, data management, integrated networking, communications, logistics and enterprise architecture, among other technical requirements, according to an AWS blog post published Monday.
AWS’ parent company will share its knowledge in supply chain management and logistics to help the team build, introduce and scale infrastructure in support of future operations and inhabitants.
“We are excited to collaborate with the Orbital Reef team to reimagine logistics for space,” said Brett McMillen, director of strategic partners for Amazon Distribution and Fulfillment Solutions.
McMillen added that the company looks forward to sharing its expertise in logistics and end-to-end supply chain infrastructure to build a station that will enable humans to sustain long-term habitation and perform experiments and exploration activities in LEO.
Boeing, Genesis Engineering Solutions, Redwire Space and Arizona State University will also support Orbital Reef, which is scheduled to begin operations in the second half of the decade.
