Voyager Technologies was awarded its sixth patent related to the Bishop Airlock, reinforcing the company’s leadership in space infrastructure, mission integration and on-orbit operations.
“The patent goes to the heart of what makes Bishop, and Voyager, different,” said Jeffrey Manber, special assistant to the CEO, Voyager, who oversaw Bishop Airlock development. “We’re ensuring payloads can be integrated on legacy platforms that were never designed with today’s commercial hardware in mind. From low-Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars, future exploration depends on the ability to connect new systems to proven architectures and have them work.”
The newly issued patent protects Voyager’s proprietary electrical power and data-interface architecture that enables Bishop Airlock to connect seamlessly to the Space Station through its Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM), a legacy, flight-proven docking and attachment system. To achieve this, Voyager developed a specialized electrical power system capable of interfacing modern, externally mounted payloads with the Space Station’s existing infrastructure while maintaining full command, control and operational reliability.
“A useful analogy is connecting a state-of-the-art appliance to a home built with older wiring: the appliance may be advanced, but without the right interface, it cannot function safely or effectively,” said Manber. “This patent protects the critical ‘adapter’ that makes that connection possible in space.” The protection extends to any space system that employs a CBM, including both the Space Station and Starlab, the next-generation commercial space station. The CBM's long flight heritage sets the foundation for future applications beyond low-Earth orbit, including cislunar infrastructure, lunar surface systems and deep-space vehicles.
In 2025, Voyager successfully completed a Cooperative Agreement Notice with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center to study the integration of an airlock on a Mars-bound vehicle. That effort identified key technical challenges unique to deep-space missions, many of which are directly addressed by the capabilities protected in this patent. The sixth Bishop-related patent further cements Voyager’s role as the leading provider of modular, electrically integrated space infrastructure, supporting commercial customers, civil agencies and national-security missions as human activity extends deeper into space.
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