Companies Have To Arrange Own Transportation, Though

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Monday it will open part of the international space station to outside scientists and researchers after its completion in three years.

Though much of the recent focus at NASA has been on returning to the moon and going to Mars, "We didn't need the entire capacity of the space station to do exploration-related research," said Mark Uhran, NASA's assistant associate administrator of the space station. "So the capacity that was freed up after we restructured our program is now available to other agencies or private sector companies."

Interested companies would be able to use about half of the US section for free -- no fees will be charged.

NASA is talking with several agencies like the National Institutes of Health as well as private businesses that have expressed an interest in conducting research in the microgravity laboratory, according to the Associated Press.

The plan does depend, however, on private companies building their own spacecraft able to travel to the outpost when the shuttles are grounded in 2010. So far, NASA has awarded $500 million to two private companies for that purpose and has inked agreements with a few others.

"The transportation system is a critical factor," Uhran said.

The first section of the ISS was launched in 1998 and Russian, US and European astronauts have been aboard continuously since 2000, reports the AP. The three-member crew is expected to expand to six by 2009. The ISS was designed to last until at least 2015, but it is now believed it will operate until well into 2022.

"What probably drives the life is ... probably how much the space station is utilized," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for space operations.

Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2010. With the shuttles grounded, NASA will shift its focus to its manned spaceflight program. The program includes a plan to return to the moon in an Orion spacecraft.

The ISS will cost about $1.5 billion a year to operate after completion.

FMI: www.nasa.gov