Aviation Week reports that NASA is “seeking comment from US companies on requirements for the end-to-end development of commercial low Earth orbit destinations available to NASA for research and technology development once the International Space Station (ISS) is retired.” Congress has “authorized ISS operations through 2030.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Tag: Private Stations
NASA Updates Commercial Space Station Plans
Space News reports that NASA has “released additional details about how it plans to use commercial space stations after the retirement of the International Space Station as some in industry seek to accelerate NASA’s support for them.” NASA published two white papers Feb. 13 “as part of a request for information (RFI) for its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations effort to support development of commercial stations.” The documents provide “new details about how NASA expects to work with companies operating those stations and the agency’s needs to conduct research there.” One white paper “lists NASA’s anticipated resource needs for those stations, including crew time, power and volume, broken out for each of the major agency programs anticipated to use commercial stations.” Companies had been “seeking more details about NASA requirements to assist in the planning of their stations.” Overall, including resources “expected to be reserved for a successor to the ISS National Laboratory, NASA expects to require 3,000 to 4,000 hours of crew time a year, which NASA expects to provide through having two astronauts on a commercial station.” The agency stated “that it is open to having private astronaut carry out some of the research activities.”
Full Story (Space News)
NASA Taps Private Companies to Develop New Low Earth Orbit Space Stations
SPACE reports space industry leaders “gathered in Washington, D.C. last week for NASA’s 11th annual International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC).” A July 26 panel “included top representatives from four companies selected by NASA to design and develop commercial space stations in low Earth orbit (LEO).”
Full Story (SPACE)
NASA Announces Three More Commercial Space Station Proposals
SPACE reports that NASA “has announced three commercial space station proposals for development, joining an earlier proposal by Axiom Space.” SPACE interviewed Axiom Chief Technology Officer Matt Ondler on “the company’s space station plans, the outlook for private industry in LEO and the importance of commercial missions such as SpaceX’s recent Inspiration4 crewed orbital flight.”
Full Story and More Info (SPACE)
Opinions Differ on Whether Market Can Support Multiple Private Stations
Aerospace America reports that the answer to whether “enough research and space tourism dollars will flow through the market to keep more than one” private space station has not yet been reached. While Axiom Space believes it has a strong case for a profitable private space station, Axiom Space Senior Vice President for Government Affairs Mary Lynne Dittmar said multiple private space stations could “end up diluting the market to such an extent” that it would be impossible for privately owned stations to make a profit. Voyager Space Holdings Vice President of Infrastructure Adrian Manguica said, “I think the market can sustain many more than one space platform because the issue that we’re seeing today is one of access on the ISS.”
Full Story (Aerospace America)