In Space Infrastructure, Living in Space, Space Settlement

Space Habitation Report – Aug.14.2026

Here is a new selection of videos, articles, and news items about space habitats (govt and commercial), living in space, and space settlement.

=== Current space inhabitants 

ISS – Crew of 7:

  • US : Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Anil Menon
  • Russia: Andrei Fedyaev, Pyotr Dubrov, Anna Kikina
  • Europe: Sophie Adenot

China Tiangong station – Crew of 3:

  • Zhu Yangzhu
  • Zhang Zhiyuan
  • Lai Ka-ying

On July 14th a Russian Soyuz delivered Anil Menon of NASA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina to the station.

A group photo of ISS residents on July 14th after the arrival of (front row from left) new Expedition 74 crew members Anil Menon of NASA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina The second row includes Roscosmos cosmonauts Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev, and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. And the back row includes Sophie Adenot of ESA and NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams, and Jessica Meir. Credits: NASA

Until the departure on July 26 of NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, there were 10 people on the ISS, making for a total of 13 in orbit, counting the 3 Tiangong residents.

** Soyuz MS-28 undocking and departure | SciNews

The Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft undocked from the Rassvet module of the International Space Station (ISS) on 26 July 2026, at 07:03 UTC (03:03 EDT). Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov (Сергей Кудь-Сверчков), Sergei Mikaev (Сергей Микаев) and NASA astronaut Chris Williams are scheduled to land in Kazakhstan on 26 July 2026, at 10:25 UTC (06:25 EDT).

=== International Space Station & NASA

** NASA Astronaut Discusses Life in Space with Naval Academy Alumni Magazine – Tuesday, July 28, 2026 | NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview July 28 with U.S. Naval Academy’s “Shipmate” alumni magazine. Hathaway, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, is in the midst of a long-duration mission aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration flights as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.

** Sophie Adenot’s mid-mission highlights  | European Space Agency, ESA

Sophie is halfway through the εpsilon mission onboard the ISS, and she has already accomplished so much. Between hundreds of hours of scientific research and thousands of photographs taken from space, she has taken the time to share many unforgettable moments with us — inspiring millions along the way on social media.

“Many thanks to all of you following along on social media, and to all the incredible teams behind εpsilon! It’s been an amazing adventure so far, and I couldn’t be more grateful for your support. Looking forward to sharing the second half of the journey with you all!”, says Sophie.

** Sophie activates ESA’s new space exercise device  | European Space Agency, ESA

Following its arrival on board the International Space Station, Sophie completed the checkout and activation of the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device (E4D), marking the start of a two-year technology demonstration led by ESA in Columbus. During this period, astronauts will evaluate the device’s design, operational performance and effectiveness in counteracting the physical deconditioning caused by life in microgravity.

** ESA News:

** Why Can’t Russia Fix The Leaks In Their Space Station Modules? | Scott Manley

We’ve been hearing stories about the ongoing leaks on the ISS for years now, but a recent story highlighted NASA’s concerns with a plan that might have been far more risky.
I wanted to go back and explain the nature of the problem, and how the repairs are more than just slapping flex seal tape over the cracks. An accepted way to fix cracks in thin sheets is to drill a clean hole to distribute the stress over a larger area, stopping the crack from propagating further.

…

0:00 Intro
2:07 AI
3:54 Finding The Leaks
6:27 Cracks
7:42 Stop Drilling
9:19 The Repairs
11:29 Going Deeper
12:58 Old Hardware
15:33 Toppings

=== Commercial space habitats

** Axiom Space

— Building Axiom Station, a Next-Gen Commercial Space Station | Exclusive Interview | Australia in Space TV

What does it take to build the next generation space station that will replace the International Space Station?

In this exclusive interview from Axiom Space headquarters in Houston, Aaron Tullos, Vice President of Station Engineering, gives Australia in Space TV an inside look at the engineering behind the Axiom Station, a commercial space station designed to operate in low Earth orbit.

Aaron explains how Axiom Space is building on decades of lessons learned from the International Space Station, while introducing new technologies and design approaches to support future space research, manufacturing, and human exploration.

Standing in front of a full-scale wooden mock-up of the Habitation Module (Hab1), Aaron walks us through how engineers test designs, reduce costs, optimise mass and power, and prepare the station modules for assembly and launch.

..

— Axiom raises more funds: Axiom Space Closed Oversubscribed Financing at $525M+ | Axiom – June.4.2026

On June 4th, Axiom announced

the final close of its previously reported financing at more than $525 million, oversubscribed amid growing investor demand.

The upsize reflected an opportunistic extension driven by continued institutional and strategic interest in Axiom Space’s leadership of the commercial low-Earth orbit transition and the United States’ return to the Moon.

The close brought new capital onto Axiom Space’s cap table alongside the investors who anchored the round earlier this year. This positions the company to accelerate execution against its core programs: human spaceflight, spacesuits, and Axiom Station – the commercial successor to the International Space Station.

** Gravitics

— BSV Podcast 0129: Gravitics | Balerion Space Ventures on Youtube

Balerion Senior Associate Aidan Daoussis sits down with Colin Doughan, Co-Founder & CEO of Gravitics, to discuss space infrastructure.

— Orbital Carrier Pathfinder under construction:


** Starlab – Voyager Technologies

—  Inside Starlab, The Biggest Commercial Space Station! | Everyday Astronaut on Youtube – Aug.14.2026

Have you ever wondered what will replace the International Space Station once it’s de-orbited? Well, I sure have, and I’ve wondered what will replace it. So today I get to go inside Starlab by Voyager Technologies with their CEO Dylan Taylor to see what it’s all about!

— Several organizations have reserved space on Starlab:

— Starlab picks SES for station communications system: Starlab selects SES Space & Defence for always-on space station connectivity | SatellitePro M – July.27.2026

SES Space & Defence, a wholly owned subsidiary of SES, has signed an agreement with Starlab to develop a communications architecture that will provide continuous, resilient and low-latency connectivity for the commercial space station throughout its operational lifecycle.

…

The partnership will utilise SES Space & Defense’s Low Earth Orbit Relay Services (LRS), powered by the company’s next-generation O3b mPOWER medium Earth orbit (MEO) constellation. The system is designed to overcome the intermittent connectivity typically experienced by low Earth orbit (LEO) spacecraft by relaying data through MEO satellites to ground networks in near real time.

— Starlab announces new agreements with customers reserving station access for research activities and payloads:

— Partnership with Voyager allows DigitalBlast of Japan to provide gateway services for companies seeking to use Starlab station for R&D: DigitalBlast Signs Starlab Space Station Reservation Agreement | APOC Wire – July.25.2026

DigitalBlast, Inc. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Shingo Horiguchi), a company that supports the growth of the space industry and the creation of new businesses, today announced that it has signed a Reservation Agreement for the use of the commercial space station “Starlab” with Starlab Space LLC (headquartered in Houston, Texas, U.S.), the developer and operator of Starlab, and recently held a signing ceremony….

… As interest in the commercial use of low Earth orbit (LEO) grows toward the post-ISS era, DigitalBlast will serve as a user-integration partner for R&D that puts the space environment to practical use, and will work to build itself into one of the gateways through which companies and research institutions in Japan and the wider Asia region can access orbit.

** VAST

— Haven-1 fluid systems:

— Waste handling on Haven-1

— Vast on Fox News:

— This New Space Station Is Full Of Modern Touches | Core Memory

The International Space Station is 25 years old, cost $155 billion, and leaks. A startup called Vast thinks it can build the replacement for about a billion dollars, and it plans to launch the first piece in 2027. In this episode, Ashlee Vance heads to Vast’s headquarters in Long Beach, California for a full tour of Haven-1, the spacecraft the company expects to be the world’s first commercial space station. Vast is the wildcard in the race to replace the ISS, moving faster than rivals like Axiom, Blue Origin and Starlab, and it’s doing it the SpaceX way: everything designed, built and tested in house, from the hatch to the micrometeorite shielding to the actual flight hull sitting next to the cafeteria.

The money comes from Jed McCaleb, the crypto billionaire who believes humanity needs a frontier and is willing to spend a fortune to open one. The building falls to CEO Max Haot, who walks Ashlee through mission control, the hull welding operation, and the numbers that make competitors nervous. Vast builds pressure vessels in six months for under $5 million while others pay 55 million euros and wait four years. NASA showed up in 2023 expecting a science fair. They’ve been coming back every quarter since.

Then NASA astronaut Drew Feustel, who spent 225 days on the ISS, takes over for the fun part: a space food taste test featuring freeze dried tiramisu and tales of trading for duck confit in orbit, the largest window ever flown to space, a zero gravity sleep pod that hugs you, and a walkthrough of Haven-1’s surprisingly roomy interior. Four people will live aboard for two week missions, with a SpaceX Dragon serving as taxi, lifeboat and bathroom. Ashlee walked in skeptical after 15 years of covering commercial space delays. He walked out believing this thing is actually going to fly.

…

Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:31 Who’s Paying a Billion Dollars for This?
05:14 Why Vast Builds Everything Itself
07:43 Touching the Real Haven-1
10:12 Space Food Taste Test with an Astronaut
12:49 The Biggest Window to Ever Fly
14:10 How Do You Sleep in Space?
15:59 Is This Really Big Enough for Four People?
20:07 Is Vast Actually Going to Pull This Off?

— Other Vast news:

** Commercial space station news, articles, etc:

=== Chinese space habitats

** Shenzhou-23 Crew Advances Space Science Experiments, Interacts with Robot Assistant | CCTV Video News Agency

The three astronauts on China’s Shenzhou-23 mission performed a haul of experiments and interacted with a robotic assistant on the Tiangong space station over the past week as they were pressing ahead with scientific research and routine maintenance in orbit.

** Articles, news, etc:

=== Lunar habitation

** NASA Moon Base development plan:

** Interlune and Vermeer collaborating on development of groundwork equipment for the Moon: Interlune builds on partnership with equipment company to lay the groundwork for moon infrastructure | GeekWire – July.30.2026

Seattle-based Interlune is expanding its partnership with Vermeer, an Iowa-based industrial equipment manufacturer, to develop construction tools for use on the moon.

The two companies forged their initial strategic partnership to further Interlune’s plans to extract helium-3 from tons of moon dirt and rocks, also known as regolith. Their full-scale prototype of a lunar excavator was unveiled a little more than a year ago.

At the time, Interlune was focused on mining helium-3 and bringing it back to Earth for applications ranging from quantum computing to medical imaging and nuclear fusion. But a major shift came in March when NASA announced a 10-year, $30 billion initiative to build the infrastructure for a moon base.

In this video, Jacob Keeley of Vermeer describes the Interlune x Vermeer space harvester:

See also: Moon Machinery Partnership for Lunar Base Work | Leonard David – July.31.2026

** Vermeer also partnering with Astrosport Space on lunar construction equipment: Astroport and Vermeer Collaborate to Pioneer “Lunar Iron” for Lunar Base Infrastructure | Businesswire/Vermeer – Apr.15.2026

Astroport Space Technologies, Inc., a leader in lunar construction, today announced at the 20th International Conference on Engineering, Science, Construction and Operations in Challenging Environments (ASCE Earth & Space 2026), a collaboration with global agricultural and industrial equipment manufacturer Vermeer Corporation to help in the development of autonomous construction machinery to aid in building a permanent human presence on the Moon.

The collaboration contributes Vermeer’s surface mining expertise to Astroport’s specialized work in robotic autonomy and lunar soil (regolith). The primary focus of this collaboration is on “lunarization” of Vermeer surface mining machinery using Astroport’s Universal Tool Implement Payload Adapter (UTIPA) technology, a modular adapter system of interchangeable tools designed for robotic construction in the Moon’s extreme environment. Beginning with a surface miner application, the teams will utilize UTIPA technology to adjust heavy equipment’s traditional reliance on mass and weight, in order to operate in the Moon’s low gravity environment and survive massive temperature swings and harsh lunar surface conditions.

** Lunar settlement articles, news, etc

=== Mars habitation

**  In partnership with South Seattle College, the Mars Society will develop a third Moon-Mars analog research station:

According to the Society announcement:

The Mars Society, through its Seattle Chapter, and South Seattle College (SSC) have signed a 10-year Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) establishing a multi-program partnership to build a Moon and Mars analog research station on the South Seattle College campus in West Seattle and create a regional education and workforce pathway for the next generation of aerospace researchers, technicians and engineers.

The agreement, signed by SSC President Dr. Monica Brown and Mars Society Executive Director James L. Burk, covers four interconnected efforts: a Moon and Mars analog research station on the SSC campus, a joint space studies curriculum and stackable certificate pathway, a student capstone project and internship program tied to industry partners, and a regional workforce pipeline and community engagement effort.

The Society

… currently operates research stations in Utah and Canada, where crews live and work under simulated Mars mission conditions. This work includes human factors studies, equipment testing, biology and geology field research, medical testing and safety drills. A research station on SSC’s campus would extend the hands-on side of this research, which aligns naturally with the strengths of a skilled trades-focused institution. 

** Mars settlement articles, news, etc

=== Large In-Space Habitats 

** Space Habitats: The Megastructures We’ll Call Home | Isaac Arthur

Explore the future of space habitats, from rotating cylinders and torus colonies to orbital cities, asteroid homes, and the megastructures humanity may one day live inside.

…

0:00 Intro
4:37 The Sunflower
14:07 The O’Neill Cylinder
49:00 Lewis One
57:40 Stanford Torus
1:22:19 Kalpana One
1:28:14 Nebula
1:29:27 Bernal Sphere
1:54:13 Bishop Ring
2:03:23 Topopolis
2:27:36 McKendree Cylinder
2:33:57 Hammer Habs
2:59:01 Rungworlds
3:04:35 Conglomerations
3:38:45 Epilogue

** Jerry Stone – Island Zero, A Study of A First Space Settlement – NSS Space Ambassadors Presentation | National Space Society

Jerry Stone from the British Interplanetary Society joins the NSS Space Ambassadors and gives his first presentation on the topic of “Island Zero,” a large space station providing artificial gravity. In mid-1969, Professor Gerard K. O’Neill put a question to a study group at Princeton University: “Is a planetary surface the right place for an expanding technological civilization?”

The unexpected result from their studies was that the answer was “No.” A much better place, it seemed, would be in vast habitats constructed in high orbit, at a special location known as the Lagrange points L4 and L5.

It is now almost 40 years since the original studies were conducted, and many advancement shave been made since the 1970s. There have been improvements in materials science, engineering, computing and robotics, and other areas that can make this program more efficient.

The aims of Island Zero will include:

Living under simulated gravity
Construction from modular units and space -produced components
Growing a large percentage of food in space
Development of a space manufacturing facility

Island Zero units could be used to house the construction force for Island One, the first large space settlement. Overall, Island Zero presents a relatively low-cost means of providing a logical progressive approach towards the construction of large settlements in space.

** National Space Society initiates design of a large in-space habitat : National Space Society announces Rotating Space Settlement Design Project | Space Settlement Progress – July.29.2026

In a presentation at this year’s International Space Development Conference, which took place in McLean, Virginia, June 4th through June 7th, National Space Society (NSS) COO/SVP Dale Skran announced the kickoff of an open-source Rotating Space Settlement Design (RSSD) Project. The initiative has been under active development for over a year within the NSS Space Settlement Advocacy Committee (SSAC) and the NSS Board of Scientific and Technical Advisors (BSTA). Full disclosure: Yours truly is a member of the SSAC. It was officially approved as an NSS Project last March. The content of this post is based on Skran’s presentation, supplemented with subsequent material presented to the SSAC, with permission.

The current RSSD project Study Group core team consists of Dale Skran, Frederick (Rick) Jenet, PhD, and Bryce Meyer, with all BSTA and SSAC members actively involved in review and discussion. Work is currently focused on establishing a foundational set of design inputs in the form of “Questions” (see below). A dedicated workshop to refine these questions will be held at the NSS Space Settlement Summit taking place at the University of Central Florida, October 25th and 26th. This will be followed by a public announcement and formal request for comment from the broader community. In addition, the “RSSD Terms of Reference” (TOR) will be published in the NSS Space Settlement Journal.

…

What is the Objective of the RSSD Project?

The core goal is to produce the first complete buildable engineering design for a rotating space settlement. The project is primarily an engineering and systems-design effort, not a policy activity, although legal and economic aspects are necessarily included because they affect feasibility.

See also: Orbital Space Settlement Design Project – NSS.

=== Technologies and strategies for space settlement

** Additive Manufacturing in Microgravity | Isaac Arthur

The most expensive part of space travel isn’t the fuel. It’s the cargo. Additive manufacturing isn’t a sci-fi magic trick; it’s the key to building shipyards and telescopes at scales rockets were never meant to handle. We aren’t just launching ships anymore; we’re moving the factory to the void.

…

Chapters
0:00 Intro
2:10 Additive Manufacturing Is Not a Printer
8:04 The Physics of Printing in Freefall
12:23 Low Gravity, Regolith, and the “Messy Middle”
17:01 CT Scan
17:59 Printing at Scales Rockets Can’t Touch

=== Other space habitat and settlement news, articles, reports, etc.

=== Earth views from ISS

** Observing Blue Jets from ISS:

** Night side as seen by ISS: 

** Live Video from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream) | NASA

Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.

The space station orbits Earth about 250 miles (425 kilometers) above the surface. An international partnership of five space agencies from 15 countries operates the station, and it has been continuously occupied since November 2000. It’s a microgravity laboratory where science, research, and human innovation make way for new technologies and research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. More: https://go.nasa.gov/3CkVtC8

Did you know you can spot the station without a telescope? It looks like a fast-moving star, but you have to know when to look up. Sign up for text messages or email alerts to let you know when (and where) to spot the station and wave to the crew: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov

(Optional High Definition feed.)

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ISS after undocking of STS-132

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International Space Station: An insight into the history, development,
collaboration, production and role of the
permanently manned earth-orbiting complex (Owners’ Workshop Manual)