--- title: "Company Has Ambitious Plan to Build Private Space Station with Artificial Gravity" description: "A space colonization company called Orbital Assembly Corporation has some incredibly bold plans to turn science fiction into reality." date: "2021-02-26" modified: "2021-02-26" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/company-ambitious-plans-private-space-station" categories: - "Space" tags: - "artificial gravity" - "space station" --- # Company Has Ambitious Plan to Build Private Space Station with Artificial Gravity ![A space colonization company called Orbital Assembly Corporation has some incredibly bold plans to turn science fiction into reality.]() *\Image: Orbital Assembly Corporation\* A space colonization company has some bold plans to turn a specific kind of science fiction into reality: Artificial gravity. Which you may recognize from, say, *Interstellar*, *The Martian*, *Halo*, *Cowboy Bebop*, *2001: A Space Odyssey*, and [more](). The Orbital Assembly Corporation's (OAC) bold vision? To construct a gigantic orbital space station called Voyager that can hold up to 400 passengers. And then, spin fast enough to provide them with artificial gravity, as [*Space.com* reports]() — and they want to get started as soon as 2025. OAC's medical advisor Shawna Pandya presented the idea during a one hour long event on January 29. https://youtu.be/Ao5o3EgQ-sU If the company can actually achieve this incredibly ambitious goal, Voyager could become the largest human-made structure in space. It will even feature bars, libraries, gyms, and a spa. OAC has at least plenty of expertise among its ranks, including NASA vets, engineers, and pilots. The company is hoping to start with sending a smaller scale prototype into orbit, 200 feet in diameter, which will spin fast enough to simulate the gravity of Mars. A giant robot called the Structure Truss Assembly Robot (STAR) will then build the much bigger Voyager station piece by piece — while in orbit. "This will be the next industrial revolution," John Blincow, founder of The Gateway Foundation and the CEO of OAC, promised during the event. OAC claims it already has commissioned a STAR prototype which will be tested in California. To say that the company has plenty of hurdles to still overcome would be a gross understatement. We don't even know if spinning up a man-made structure in space will provide the angular momentum needed to create artificial gravity. And then there's the matter of money. OAC is [open for private investment]() until April 1, but even with the likes of SpaceX bringing down the cost of flying cargo to orbit, building a space station is arguably going to be prohibitively expensive. So far, the company has raised $1 million. But OAC has done its homework. Their extravagant vision of space colonization may not materialize within the coming decades — even if they manage to fly a single piece of its station into space before then. But at least somebody is thinking ahead of what our future in space might look like. **READ MORE:** [Company plans to start building private Voyager space station with artificial gravity in 2025]() \[*Space.com*\] **More on the Gateway:** *[A Startup Wants to Launch a Space Hotel Named After a Nazi]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()