As NASA plans to decommission the International Space Station (ISS) by the end of the decade, the next generation of orbital enterprise prepares to launch. Rocket-builder Blue Origin is aiming to have the first commercial space station—a solar-powered, "mixed-use business park" called Orbital Reef—operational by 2030. 

Floating 311 miles above the Earth, the 29,300-cubic-foot installation will be self-supporting and feature sleeping quarters, social areas, and research facilities. Its central Core structure, with a volume of 8,228 cubic feet, is connected to an inflatable Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) habitat from Sierra Space, a Colorado-based aerospace and space-technologies outfit.