'Orbital Reef' is one of several private outposts planned in the coming years

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin on Monday announced it wants to launch a space station that will house up to 10 people in the second half of the decade, as the race to commercialize the cosmos heats up.

The space station will be named "Orbital Reef" and is a joint venture with commercial space company Sierra Space - known for their Dream Chaser, a winged space-plane designed to carry cargo - and has the support of Boeing and Arizona State University. 

"For over sixty years, NASA and other space agencies have developed orbital space flight and space habitation, setting us up for commercial business to take off in this decade," said Blue Origin executive Brent Sherwood.... Read More: i24