NASA Explores Handing Over ISS To Private Enterprise

With NASA looking beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) towards the moon, Mars and asteroids, it is very unlikely that it will continue to operate the International Space Station beyond 2024. So what does a federal agency do with an aging orbiting laboratory?

Speaking at a "Journey to Mars" event, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Bill Hill gave a hint of the station's fate, and it does not include de-orbiting the station and splashing it into the ocean, as was the fate of Skylab.

"NASA's trying to develop economic development in low-earth orbit. Ultimately, our desire is to hand the space station over to either a commercial entity or some other commercial capability so that research can continue in low-earth orbit," Hill said at the event.

Engadget relays a report from TechCrunch which says that while NASA has long had a plan to leave LEO operations in private hands, the original plan was for corporations to build their own space stations.

Hill did not offer many details, including how NASA's partner agencies might feel about transferring the ISS to private enterprise. Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA and CSA all have made significant investments in maintaining and operating the station.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.nasa.gov