First Private Commercial Space Station Research Base Secured in Korea... Aiming to Lead the Space Medicine Market

Spacelintech Signs Agreement with U.S. StarLab
Building an AI-Based New Drug Research and Production Platform After the ISS Era

A domestic space medicine company has secured, for the first time, a next-generation commercial space station research base in preparation for the retirement of the International Space Station (ISS). The strategy is to expand new drug research and pharmaceutical production, which utilize a microgravity environment, to private commercial space stations, thereby seeking to take the lead in the global space medicine market.

On July 14, Spacelintech announced that it has signed an agreement with the U.S. commercial space station developer StarLab Space LLC to secure payload space, and that it will establish an AI-based space medicine research and manufacturing platform at StarLab in the future.

Image of the automation research module BEE-PC1, demonstrated on the ISS in 2025. Created with a background depicting a bird's-eye view of Star Lab's interior. Provided by Spacelintech.

This agreement marks the first instance of a domestic private company securing research space for use on a commercial space station. Based on this, the company plans to expand its research and manufacturing capabilities for protein pharmaceuticals on private low-Earth orbit space stations that will replace the ISS after 2030.

New Drug Development Using Microgravity... Establishing a Space Medicine Platform

StarLab is a next-generation commercial space station currently being developed with participation from Voyager Space, Airbus, Mitsubishi Corporation, MDA Space, Palantir Technologies, and others. The goal is to serve as a private-sector-driven low-Earth orbit research and production infrastructure following the retirement of the ISS.

Spacelintech plans to advance its protein crystallization research and pharmaceutical manufacturing technology utilizing the microgravity environment at StarLab. In microgravity, convection and sedimentation due to gravity are almost nonexistent, increasing the likelihood of obtaining more uniform protein crystals than on Earth. Through this, the company explained that it can analyze the three-dimensional structure of proteins with greater precision, thereby enhancing the efficiency of structure-based drug design and formulation development.

The company also plans to build a space medicine platform that handles not only research but also pharmaceutical production at the commercial space station. By applying AI-based autonomous operation technology, the company will establish a system that enables real-time monitoring of experimental conditions and automated control of research processes even in the space environment.

Exterior photo of StarLab Commercial Space Station. Provided by StarLab Space

Byungho Kim, Head of the Space Medicine Business Division at Spacelintech, stated, "The combination of microgravity and AI-based autonomous operation technology can take the design and monitoring methods of pharmaceutical research to the next level. This agreement will serve as the starting point for building a space medicine platform that connects Korea’s biopharmaceutical technology with next-generation commercial low-Earth orbit infrastructure."

Marshall Smith, CEO of StarLab, said, "AI has the potential to fundamentally change the way research is conducted in orbit. The combination of AI and microgravity research will accelerate drug development and serve as an opportunity to expand international cooperation on the low-Earth orbit economy."

This September, Spacelintech plans to load the protein crystallization demonstrator 'BEE-1012' onto the Nuri rocket's fifth launch. After ground verification and low-Earth orbit demonstration, the company aims to expand the utilization scope to private commercial space stations and establish a space medicine platform that covers the entire process from research to new drug development and production.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.