--- title: "Someone Is Secretly Working on “Privately Owned” Space Station" description: "Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon subsidiary, is working on life support technologies for a \"privately owned and operated low Earth orbit outpost.\"" date: "2021-08-25" modified: "2021-08-25" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/secret-space-station" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "axios space" - "raytheon" - "space station" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # Someone Is Secretly Working on “Privately Owned” Space Station ![Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon subsidiary, is working on life support technologies for a "privately owned and operated low Earth orbit outpost."]() *\Image: Axiom Space\* ## Moonraker? Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of military and aerospace contractor Raytheon Technologies, is working on environmental control and life support technologies for a "privately owned and operated low Earth orbit outpost," [according to *SpaceNews*](). There's plenty of money being poured into developing a commercial presence in space right now. The small firm was awarded a $2.6 million contract by a mysterious unnamed customer — a sign, in spite of its opacity, that the race to commercial orbit is heating up. ## On Life Support The Collins work includes machines capable of controlling both temperature and pressure levels in space enabling a prolonged human presence, according to *SpaceNews*' reporting. The subsidiary already has plenty of experience to draw from. In fact, it's behind the International Space Station's [current water recovery system](). Shawn Macleod, Collins Aerospace’s director of business development, told *SpaceNews* that "as more private industry destinations become available, the demand for life support systems will increase." ## Axiom, Is That You? There is a non-zero chance that the unnamed contractor is Axiom Space, according to *SpaceNews*' analysis. The Houston-based, privately funded space company is planning to construct its own [commercial space station](). The company also announced the crew for the world’s [first entirely-private mission]() into orbit back in January, on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. But whether Axiom Space is behind the Collins contract remains unclear. The company declined *SpaceNews*' request for comment. **READ MORE:** [Collins Aerospace to provide life support for privately run LEO outpost]() \[*SpaceNews*\] **More on Axios Space:** *[First Entirely-Private Mission to Space Station Names Its Crew]()* ## 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]()