NASA issues long-awaited call to industry for private space stations

NASA has issued a long-awaited call to industry inviting companies to develop private space stations, a step aimed at ensuring a continued American presence in low Earth orbit as the International Space Station approaches the end of its operational life.

The move reflects NASA's strategy of shifting from operating its own orbital outpost to becoming a customer of commercially built and operated stations, a model the agency has pursued in other areas of spaceflight in recent years, including cargo and crew transport.

In announcing the call, NASA emphasized the importance it places on maintaining a continuous US presence in orbit, stating plainly that it will never give up its presence in low Earth orbit, a signal of the agency's intent to avoid any gap between the retirement of the International Space Station and the availability of its commercial successors.

The call to industry is expected to draw interest from companies already working on commercial space station concepts, several of which have been developing plans in anticipation of NASA's eventual transition away from the aging International Space Station.

The timeline for selecting and funding private station proposals, as well as the exact scope of NASA's involvement in their development, is expected to become clearer as the agency moves through the process it has now formally opened to industry.