Starlab Space Announces Partnership with Helogen to Advance Life Sciences Research in Microgravity

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microgravity technical

Microgravity is a condition where objects experience almost no net weight because they are in continuous free-fall, such as aboard orbiting spacecraft; think of passengers feeling weightless in a smoothly falling elevator. For investors, microgravity matters because it enables scientific experiments and manufacturing processes that behave very differently than on Earth, potentially creating novel drugs, materials, or technologies, changing development timelines, costs, market opportunities and regulatory considerations.

low Earth orbit technical

Low Earth orbit (LEO) is the region of space close to Earth, roughly from about 160 to 2,000 kilometers above the surface, where satellites and spacecraft circle the planet quickly—think of it as a busy highway just overhead. It matters to investors because many communications, imaging and data services rely on satellites in LEO; their shorter lifespans, lower launch costs, crowded lanes and debris risks directly affect the cost, revenue potential and operational risks of companies that build, launch or use these satellites.

biomaterials medical

Materials engineered to interact safely and effectively with living tissue—such as plastics, metals, ceramics or natural substances used for implants, wound dressings, or drug carriers. They matter to investors because their safety, durability and regulatory approval determine whether a medical product can be sold and reimbursed; think of biomaterials as the “building materials” for medical devices and therapies, where quality and certification drive market value and risk.

protein crystallization medical

Protein crystallization is the process of coaxing protein molecules to pack into a regular, repeating solid lattice so their detailed shape and interactions can be determined and studied. For investors, it matters because knowing a protein’s exact structure can speed drug design, support patent claims, and improve manufacturing quality and stability of biologic medicines, reducing development and regulatory risk much like having a clear blueprint speeds construction and fixes.

3D cell growth medical

Clusters of living cells grown in the lab that form three-dimensional structures resembling real tissues, rather than flat sheets on a dish. Like building a model house instead of drawing a floor plan, 3D cell growth captures more of how cells behave in the body, so it can give more reliable results for testing drugs, diagnostics or therapies. For investors, that means projects using 3D models may show better predictive data, potentially reducing clinical risk and increasing the value of biotech R&D.

stem cell medical

A stem cell is a basic, unspecialized cell that can both reproduce itself and develop into different types of mature cells—think of it like a blank building block or a sapling that can grow into various kinds of trees. Investors care because stem-cell research underpins potential new treatments and regenerative therapies: it can create high-growth opportunities but also carries long development timelines, regulatory hurdles and scientific uncertainty that affect risk and valuation.

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02/18/2026 - 07:30 AM

The Helogen HEL-IOS™ orbital biomedical operating system will be integrated in the Starlab space station to enable continuous, autonomous biological discovery in low Earth orbit.

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Starlab Space LLC, the commercial space station developer expanding access to low Earth orbit research, today announced a partnership with Helogen Corporation, the automation platform industrializing orbit by enabling scalable, regulatory-grade manufacturing and autonomous biological operations in space. Together, the companies will expand how life sciences research is conducted in microgravity, moving from isolated experiments toward persistent, scalable discovery in orbit.

HEL-IOS™ enables fully autonomous, regulatory-grade manufacturing of high-value biomaterials in orbit by integrating biological cultivation, processing, sequencing and in-line analytics into a single closed-loop system that operates without continuous crew intervention. By embedding end-to-end automation directly into the station infrastructure, HEL-IOS™ will transform Starlab from a strictly lab environment into a scalable production facility.

Through the partnership, Helogen will integrate HEL-IOS™, the world’s first orbital biomedical operating system, into the Starlab ecosystem. HEL-IOS™ enables fully autonomous regulatory-grade manufacturing of high-value biomaterials in orbit by integrating biological cultivation, processing, sequencing and in-line analytics into a single closed-loop system that operates without continuous crew intervention. By embedding end-to-end automation directly into station infrastructure, HEL-IOS™ transforms orbital platforms from experimental environments into scalable production facilities. Commercial partners can scale industrial output with fewer flights and reduced operational overhead, while researchers gain continuous, automated workflows that accelerate discovery without dependence on crew-tended operations or frequent sample return. The result is a persistent manufacturing capability in orbit, positioning Starlab as an industrial node in the emerging space economy rather than a destination for isolated missions.

“Microgravity is not just a research environment. It’s a fundamentally new manufacturing and discovery regime,” said Shishir Bankapur, CEO of Helogen. “At Helogen, our mission is to unlock biological processes that Earth’s gravity suppresses and translate them into scalable breakthroughs in medicine and materials. Starlab’s globally accessible orbital platform, combined with HEL-IOS™, allows researchers to run, iterate and scale biology in space faster than ever before, shifting from one-off experiments to continuous, high-throughput discovery.”

“This partnership reflects exactly how we envision life sciences operating in low Earth orbit,” said Marshall Smith, CEO of Starlab. “By integrating autonomous biological systems like HEL-IOS™ into Starlab, we’re enabling researchers to move beyond short-duration experiments and toward sustained discovery and manufacturing workflows that can deliver real impact on Earth.”

The announcement builds on Starlab’s growing capabilities in biopharmaceutical and life sciences research in orbit. Microgravity offers conditions that cannot be replicated on Earth, allowing for improved protein crystallization to support drug development, 3D cell growth and disease models that more closely mimic human biology, and advanced stem cell research with potential applications for treating conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

Starlab’s market-driven business model is designed to reduce cost, complexity and risk for researchers and commercial partners. Its single-launch, no-assembly-required architecture enables full certification and operational readiness within weeks from launch, minimizing delays and maximizing efficiency for payload customers. Through its joint venture partners, customers can conduct research aboard the International Space Station today, ensuring a seamless transition to Starlab as its next-generation capabilities come online.

About Starlab

Starlab Space is a U.S.-led, global joint venture among Voyager Technologies (NYSE: VOYG), Airbus, Mitsubishi Corporation, MDA Space, Palantir Technologies and Space Applications Services, with strategic partners including Hilton, Journey, Northrop Grumman and The Ohio State University. Starlab is developing a next-generation, AI-enabled commercial space station, aiming to ensure continued human presence in low-Earth orbit and a seamless transition of microgravity science and research alongside the retirement of the International Space Station. Starlab's advanced, user-driven design and robust capabilities make it a premier platform for scientific discovery and technological advancement in space. For more information, visit starlab-space.com.

About Helogen

Helogen is an American orbital industrial automation platform. The company is industrializing space by enabling scalable, regulatory-grade manufacturing of high-value biomaterials that achieve performance advantages over terrestrial production.

Helogen deploys autonomous orbital automation systems powered by its proprietary operating system, HEL-IOS™, integrating biological cultivation, processing, and real-time analytics into a continuous in-space workflow. This infrastructure supports industrial-scale biomaterial production while allowing researchers to run end-to-end automated experiments in orbit with fewer flights and minimal crew intervention.

By embedding persistent automation into next-generation space infrastructure, Helogen transforms orbital platforms into scalable industrial facilities that accelerate both commercial manufacturing and breakthrough discovery. For more information, visit www.helogen.com.