--- title: "This Startup Wants to Turn Space Junk Into Orbital Hotels" description: "Canadian space launch startup Maritime Launch Services (MLS) has partnered with commercial space services company Nanoracks to develop a way to reuse old rocket parts in space." date: "2019-11-07" modified: "2019-11-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/startup-reuse-old-rocket-parts-space" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "future travel" - "rocket launch" - "space hotel" - "space junk" --- # This Startup Wants to Turn Space Junk Into Orbital Hotels ![A Canadian space launch startup has partnered with commercial space services company to develop a way to reuse old rocket parts in space.]() *\Image: Nanoracks\* ## Reduce, Reuse Canadian space launch startup Maritime Launch Services (MLS) has partnered with commercial space services company Nanoracks to develop a way to reuse old rocket parts in space, [the *CBC* reports](). The idea is to one day turn used upper stages of rockets — the parts that are filled with fuel to launch them into orbit — into orbital facilities, including hotels, research centers and storage depots. "There's lots of things that you can be doing with the upper stages and our core belief at Nanoracks is you don't waste something in space — it's too precious," Jeffrey Manber, CEO of Nanoracks, told the *CBC*. ## Welders React Nanoracks wants to use MLS's rockets to house welding robots that'll refurbish derelict upper stages into "outposts" while they're already in space, rather than assembling them back on Earth first. But that vision is still many years out. The rockets MLS is currently using, which are Cyclone 4Ms, aren't big enough to be turned into space hotels or other facilities meant for human use, and Manber isn't "sure it would be safe" anyway. ## Green Dot Another advantage to this approach: reusing old rocket parts in space means less junk. Space junk is [a growing issue]() and upper stages that aren't sent to be burned up in Earth's atmosphere [contribute to it](), according to NASA. "We've got this stuff up there anyway, so why not take it and reuse it and repurpose it for something that has a second benefit \[...\] that does more science," MLS president and CEO Stephen Matier told the *CBC*. **READ MORE:** [Canso spaceport partners with U.S. company to recycle rockets in space]() \[*CBC*\] **More on space junk:** *[Canada Wants Your Help Cleaning up Space Junk]()* ## 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]()