Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) is a NASA program that provides milestone-based funding to private companies developing space stations to succeed the International Space Station after its planned retirement around 2030. NASA awarded initial CLD agreements to Blue Origin (Orbital Reef), Nanoracks/Voyager Space (Starlab), and Northrop Grumman, with Vast and Axiom Space also pursuing commercial station capabilities through separate pathways.
The CLD program aims to ensure uninterrupted U.S. access to microgravity research capabilities while transitioning from government-owned to commercially-owned infrastructure. NASA intends to be one customer among many, purchasing research time and crew access on commercial stations rather than bearing the full operational cost. This shift is expected to lower NASA's LEO costs by 50% or more while enabling new commercial revenue streams from in-space manufacturing, tourism, media production, and international partners.