NASA private space station contracts: Blue Origin, Nanoracks, Northrop

NASA awarded a trio of companies with contracts to develop private space stations, as the agency prepares for the retirement of the International Space Station.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, and Nanoracks were awarded a combined $415.6 million under NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) project, the agency announced on Thursday.

Nanoracks won the largest individual award with an $160 million, while Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman received $130 million and $125.6 million, respectively.

Notably, private holding company Voyager Space is the majority shareholder of X.O. Markets, the parent company of Nanoracks.

NASA told CNBC…