What Max Space does

Max Space is a 2023-founded aerospace startup headquartered in Miami, Florida, with engineering and manufacturing operations in Rockledge, FL, that develops expandable space habitats designed to launch compactly and expand up to 20 times their stowed volume upon deployment. The company's product line spans the Max 5 (5m³), Max 100 (100m³), Max 350 (350m³), Max 1,000 (1,000m³), and Max Megastructure (10,000m³) modules, all built on a proprietary expandable habitat architecture featuring a multi-layered Kevlar hull engineered with 3x safety factors for thermal, compression, vibration, vacuum, and micrometeoroid protection. The underlying technology draws on 40 years of in-orbit heritage through prior expandable habitats - Genesis I (19 years in LEO), Genesis II (18 years in LEO), and BEAM (ongoing on the ISS) - with CTO Maxim de Jong having been directly involved in all three programs.

Max Space's go-to-market is centered on enterprise partnerships with government agencies and commercial space leaders. The company operates under Space Act Agreements with NASA aligned to the Artemis Program goal of establishing permanent lunar presence by 2028, holds an initial launch contract with SpaceX for the Thunderbird Station commercial space station (350m³, 4 crew full-time, up to 8 short-stay, 60+ reconfigurable payload lockers) on Falcon 9 with planned crew flights on Dragon, and is positioned as the expandable habitat provider for Voyager Technologies' Starlab commercial space station program following Voyager's "low eight figures" strategic investment in March 2026. Target customers include government space agencies, commercial space companies building post-ISS stations, and lunar infrastructure developers planning Moon surface operations in mining, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, data storage, and tourism.

Max Space generates revenue through project-based contracts involving the sale and deployment of expandable habitat modules for LEO, lunar, and deep space applications, supplemented by government-funded R&D milestones under Space Act Agreements and strategic investment capital. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is structured around volume capacity, mission requirements, and deployment specifications. The company is currently pre-revenue from commercial product sales; first in-orbit validation is scheduled with the Mission Evolution 5m³ demo on a Falcon 9 rideshare in February 2027, with Thunderbird Station targeted for 2029 launch.

Name

Max Space

Legal name

Max Space, Inc.

Website

https://getmaxspace.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Max Space is a Miami-based aerospace startup developing expandable space habitats that launch compactly and expand up to 20x in volume, serving government agencies and commercial space companies pursuing LEO stations, lunar infrastructure, and deep space applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Space Habitat Manufacturing

NAICS

Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414), Other Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (336419)

SIC

Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760)

akta.pro primary industry

Spacecraft & Satellites (Civil/Commercial) (IMABACAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Space Structures, Mechanisms & Thermal Control (IMABACAF)

Keywords

• Expandable space habitats
• Inflatable space stations
• Commercial space stations
• Lunar habitat systems
• Space habitat manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Expandable Space Habitat Sales: Max Space generates revenue through the sale and deployment of expandable space habitat modules for LEO, lunar, and deep space applications. The company is developing Thunderbird Station as a commercial space station alternative to ISS, targeting launch in 2029.
2. Strategic Investment: Max Space received a strategic investment from Voyager Technologies described as 'low eight figures' to accelerate internal R&D, engineering, manufacturing, and mission integration activities. This investment supports the company's development roadmap including a 20-cubic-meter LEO demonstration in 2026, a 100-cubic-meter module in 2027, and a 1,000-cubic-meter lunar habitat planned for 2030.
3. Government Contracts: Max Space operates under Space Act Agreements with NASA and aligns its development roadmap with NASA's Artemis Program goals for establishing permanent human presence on the Moon by 2028.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Max Space designs, manufactures, and sells expandable (inflatable) space habitat modules and full commercial space stations for low-Earth orbit, lunar, and Mars applications. Its core product is the Thunderbird Station, a 350m³ commercial space station targeted for 2029 launch on Falcon 9, supplemented by a roadmap of scalable habitat modules (Max 5, Max 100, Max 350, Max 1,000, Max Megastructure) and an initial in-orbit demonstration mission called Mission Evolution (Max 5, 5m³) launching February 2027.

Product overview

Max Space is a space infrastructure company that builds expandable space habitats — the only company specializing in this technology. The product portfolio centers on expandable habitat modules that launch compactly and expand up to 20x their stowed volume, ranging from the 5m³ Max 5 (Mission Evolution demo in 2027) to the 350m³ Max 350 (Thunderbird Station in 2029), the 1,000m³ Max 1,000 lunar habitat (2030), and the 10,000m³ Max Megastructure. The Thunderbird Station is the company's flagship commercial space station product featuring Max 350 modules, while the expandable habitat architecture serves as the underlying technology platform that powers all products. The company also offers Mission Evolution as an initial demonstration mission to validate the technology in orbit before larger deployments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Thunderbird Station Commercial space station featuring expandable habitat modules with 350m³ pressurized volume, designed for sustained human presence in Earth orbit with crew accommodations for 4 full-time (up to 8 for short stays), featuring over 60 reconfigurable payload lockers, observation galleries, individual private astronaut quarters, and adaptive work areas.
• Mission Evolution (Max 5 Demo) Initial in-orbit demonstration mission featuring a 5m³ expandable habitat prototype launched on Falcon 9 rideshare to validate the expandable habitat architecture before larger deployments; serves as the flight-qualification proof point for the Max Space platform.
• Max 100 Expandable Habitat Module 100m³ expandable habitat module planned for 2027, part of the progression toward larger lunar surface applications.
• Max 350 Expandable Habitat Module 350m³ expandable habitat module used in Thunderbird Station and planned lunar habitats, offering significant pressurized volume in a compact launch configuration.
• Max 1,000 Lunar Habitat 1,000m³ expandable lunar habitat planned for 2030, capable of launching on a single rocket and representing the pressurized volume of the entire ISS in one launch.
• Max Megastructure 10,000m³ expandable megastructure planned for future deployment, representing the largest scale of expandable habitat architecture for very large-scale permanent orbital or planetary surface outposts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20x volume expansion from stowed to deployed configuration
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Voyager Technologies (Strategic Partnership)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 February 2026Voyager Technologies and Max Space announced a strategic partnership on February 5, 2026, to examine how expandable habitat modules could support lunar exploration. The companies plan to conduct ground and in-space technology demonstrations by the end of the decade, targeting NASA's ambitions to establish initial elements of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030.
• SpaceXcoreTechnology or IntegrationSpaceX serves as the launch provider for Max Space's expandable habitats. Initial launch contract has been signed for Thunderbird Station on Falcon 9, with first Thunderbird crew flights planned on Dragon spacecraft. The habitats can be deployed using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, offering cost and logistical advantages.
• NASAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA provides ongoing support through Space Act Agreements. Max Space's technology aligns with NASA's Artemis Program targeting permanent human presence on the Moon by 2028 and supports NASA's strategy to transition low-Earth orbit operations to the private sector.
• Redwire SpacecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-Founder Aaron Kemmer's previous company Made in Space was acquired by Redwire Space in 2020 for over $250M in NASA contracts. Max Space maintains strategic alignment with Redwire for manufacturing and integration of space station components.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sierra Space: Sierra Space develops the LIFE (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) inflatable habitat and the Dream Chaser spaceplane, and is partnering with Blue Origin on Orbital Reef. It is the only other company with mature expandable-habitat flight heritage, and its TransHab/BEAM lineage overlaps directly with Max Space's CTO's background.
• Axiom Space: Axiom Space is developing a commercial successor to the ISS with modules initially attached to the station before separating as a free-flying platform. Like Max Space, it targets NASA CLD demand and sovereign astronaut access in the post-ISS era, making it the most well-capitalized direct commercial station competitor.
• Voyager Technologies (Starlab): NYSE-listed Voyager Technologies is both a strategic investor in Max Space and the prime contractor of the Starlab commercial space station, which directly incorporates Max Space's expandable habitat modules. They are simultaneously a customer/partner and the most direct competing commercial station effort.

Broad incumbents

• Northrop Grumman (HALO / Gateway): Northrop Grumman built HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) for NASA's Lunar Gateway and has decades of human-spaceflight habitat experience. It is a likely prime contractor for lunar surface habitat programs where Max Space will compete as a subsystem or module supplier.
• Lockheed Martin (Human Landing Systems / Habitat Studies): Lockheed Martin (the acquirer of CEO Saleem Miyan's prior GPS/satellite tracking startup) is a broad space prime with ongoing work in cislunar habitats and human spaceflight, making it a plausible large incumbent partner or competitor for lunar surface habitat awards where Max Space may bid as a supplier.
• Blue Origin (Orbital Reef): Blue Origin leads the Orbital Reef commercial space station consortium with Sierra Space and others, directly competing with Max Space for NASA CLD awards. As a Jeff Bezos-backed incumbent with multi-billion-dollar funding, it represents the scale competitor Max Space must differentiate against on cost and volume-per-launch.

Emerging players

• Bigelow Aerospace: Bigelow Aerospace pioneered commercial inflatable habitats (Genesis I/II, BEAM precursor work) before scaling down operations; it remains an IP-rich, capital-constrained player in the same expandable-habitat niche where Max Space now operates and could re-emerge as either a competitor or acquisition target.
• Vast Space: Vast Space is developing Haven-1, a small commercial space station targeting a 2026 launch, with a longer-term goal of an artificial-gravity station. It competes with Max Space for CLD task orders and early commercial LEO customers but uses a different (rigid/aluminum) architecture.
• ICON (Lunar Construction): ICON is developing 3D-printed lunar surface habitats (Project Olympus, with NASA contracts) targeting similar Artemis-era lunar infrastructure customers as Max Space. It represents an alternative habitat technology competing for the same NASA lunar surface funding pool.

Others

• Redwire Space: Redwire acquired Made in Space (founded by Max Space Chairman Aaron Kemmer) for over $250M in NASA contracts and is a strategic partner for Max Space's manufacturing and integration. It is both a key supplier/channel and a potential competitor for in-space infrastructure contracts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/getmaxspace
• Xx.com/getmaxspace

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors4 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Max Space