Blue Origin, the rocket company started by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, said on Monday it plans to launch a private space station into orbit between 2025 and 2030.
The commercially built and operated station, named Orbital Reef, is being developed together with several partners, including Boeing, the company said.
Orbital Reef will serve as a "mixed use business park," catering to research, industrial and international customers, as well as tourists.
Blue Origin recently made headlines by launching 90-year-old "Star Trek" icon William Shatner into space for a brief sojourn to promote space tourism.
The largest and longest-habitated space station to date is the International Space Station (ISS), operated by the US space agency NASA together with numerous partner agencies from around the world.
The ISS has been permanently inhabited by a rotating cast of astronauts since 2000, but the future of the ageing outpost is uncertain.
China is in the process of building its own Tiangong space station.
Several private companies have already announced plans for commercial space stations.
