--- title: "The Company NASA’s Hired to Build the Next Space Station Seems to Be in Big Trouble, Firing 100 Employees and Unable to Pay Bills" description: "Axiom Space, the space company NASA picked to develop a private successor to the International Space Station, is in big trouble." date: "2024-09-18" modified: "2024-09-18" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/axiom-space-nasa-private-space-station-trouble" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "axiom space" - "international space station" - "NASA" - "private space stations" - "space suits" - "the digest" --- # The Company NASA’s Hired to Build the Next Space Station Seems to Be in Big Trouble, Firing 100 Employees and Unable to Pay Bills ![Axiom Space, the space company NASA picked to develop a private successor to the International Space Station, is in big trouble.]() *\Image: Axiom Space\* ## Fly'm Crisis Axiom Space, the space company NASA picked to develop a private successor to the International Space Station, is in big trouble. As [*Forbes* reports](), the startup is struggling to pay the bills and has laid off at least a hundred employees, while cutting the pay of those who remain. That leaves its plan to develop a module that can dock with the ISS before detaching to form its own space station on thin ice. And the clock is ticking, because the ISS is [set to be retired by NASA in 2030](), two years sooner than anticipated. In other words, the company is quickly running out of time and is years behind schedule. As a result, Axiom Space was forced to "radically change the design" of the station, per *Forbes*. However, according to *Forbes*' reporting, investors are balking at funding the development of a much smaller station that could end up being less commercially lucrative — and possibly even more expensive. "The business model had to change," one former employee told *Forbes,* "and that has continued to make it challenging for the company to get around its cash flow issues." ## On Life Support To bring in some much-needed cash, Axiom Space [started selling seats]() for trips to the ISS on board SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. It was also awarded a NASA contract to [fund a space suit for the first crewed mission]() to the lunar surface, Artemis III. But the suit appears to have been a massive distraction — not to mention a [major money pit]() — from its plans to build a space station. SpaceX trips to the existing orbital outpost were also not a sustainable solution to Axiom Space's woes. "Turns out that there's not a lot of billionaires that want to set aside their life for 18 months to go train to be an astronaut for the ISS," a former Axiom executive told *Forbes*. Meanwhile, Axiom Space's billionaire CEO Kam Ghaffarian has reportedly been propping up the company with his own funds to keep it afloat. But despite his best efforts, Ghaffarian admitted to *Forbes* that the company had laid off "about 100" employees this year. Existing employees were hit with pay cuts of up to 20 percent. Axiom Space has also lost several key executives this year, suggesting significant turmoil behind closed doors. Where all of this leaves the company's plans to build a private space station remains to be seen. Axiom Space is only [one of a number of companies]() contracted by NASA to develop a replacement after the ISS is retired in 2030. NASA will narrow down that number sometime next year. According to [*Ars Technica*'s sources](), the agency may choose at least two companies for a second phase. But whether Axiom Space will make the cut remains to be seen. Its financial woes will likely complicate matters considerably. **More on Axiom Space:** *[NASA Is Having a Spacesuit Crisis]()* ## 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]()