--- title: "The Company Building NASA’s Next Space Station Says Things Are Actually Going Great Even Though It’s Firing 100 Employees and Can’t Pay Its Bills" description: "Axiom Space, the company NASA picked to develop a private space station, is in damage control after Forbes reported that it's in big trouble." date: "2024-09-23" modified: "2024-09-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/axiom-space-space-station-ceo-okay" categories: - "Future Society" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "axiom space" - "international space station" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # The Company Building NASA’s Next Space Station Says Things Are Actually Going Great Even Though It’s Firing 100 Employees and Can’t Pay Its Bills ![Axiom Space, the company NASA picked to develop a private space station, is in damage control after Forbes reported that it's in big trouble.]() *\Image: Axiom Space\* ## Nothing to See Here Axiom Space, the company NASA picked to develop an upcoming space station, is in full damage control after [*Forbes* reported]() last week that it's in [major financial trouble](). According to the report, which includes an interview with Axiom Space's billionaire CEO Kam Ghaffarian, the company had to lay off "about 100" employees, and those who remained were hit with significant pay cuts. Adding to the trouble, according to *Forbes*, it's having trouble paying its bills. The company's work on a replacement for the International Space Station is years behind schedule and may not arrive until the station is [retired in 2030](). Investors were reportedly unimpressed with a "radically changed" design for a much smaller station that would have to sustain itself instead of first being docked to the existing space station. Now, in an internal letter [obtained by ]()[*The Register*](), Ghaffarian attempted to reassure the company's investors by accusing *Forbes* of painting an "inaccurate picture" and arguing that more money is already on the way. However, Ghaffarian stopped short of calling out any specific inaccuracies — suggesting that Axiom may indeed be in dire straits despite his sudden rosy optimism. ## Optimized and Restructured In the letter, Ghafarian argued that "our team is optimizing our organization structure," possibly hinting at further mass layoffs. Beyond a significant cash squeeze and being many years behind schedule, Axiom Space has seen a litany of upper executives leave the company, including its co-founder and former CEO Michael Suffredini, who [stepped down]() last month. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ghaffarian pointed the finger at the media, accusing it of "biases and agendas," according to *The Register*. "We are building a bold vision for the future, and we will not be deterred," he wrote. But whether Ghaffarian's steadfast optimism is a sign of easier days ahead for Axiom Space remains unclear. Its current venture to [sell uber-expensive seats to the ISS]() on board SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft may also not be the salvation the company needs. "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*. **More on Axiom Space:** *[The Company NASA's Hired to Build the Next Space Station Seems to Be in Big Trouble, and Firing 100 Employees and Unable to Pay Bills]()* ## 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]()