ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING NEW MARKETS IN THE SPACE SECTOR IS POISED FOR LIFTOFF. Privately owned space stations, backed by investors and strategic partners, will soon be a reality. Implemented correctly, a dramatic new era of in-space manufacturing, research, entertainment, and tourism will be unleashed.
NASA has declared 2030 as the end date for the International Space Station (ISS). To kick off this new era, Congress has provided initial funding to stimulate the development of these next-generation space stations.
The immediate goal is to ensure continued U.S. leadership in the nascent space marketplace by avoiding a U.S. space station gap. It is expected that by 2030 there will be two stations in orbit from the teams that have received the initial NASA funding. The stakes could not be higher. China’s Tiangong space station is already in orbit and luring international customers.
But the longer goal is more expansive: by unleashing the creativity of the commercial sector, we can fully tap the unique environment of space for advances in Ag-Tech, biopharma, genetics, thin films and other cutting-edge fields of research and manufacturing.
How to begin?
First, we recognize the need for space agencies as the driving customer at the outset — this is a new market, and the government is a proven customer. NASA’s plan is to be one of many customers for the commercial space stations — a formula proven in the decade-long transition from the single-point dependency on the Space Shuttle to today’s commercial launch provider ecosystem, with multiple cargo vehicles and crew services to the ISS. This pivot to NASA as a customer has been a resounding success for the taxpayer, for industry, and, importantly, for government access to this strategically important region. We all know of Elon Musk’s and…
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