The future of the International Space Station is in peril, but it seems that plans are underway to privatize it after funding for it runs dry.
The Head Of NASA Is Talking To Private Companies
In an interview with the Washington Post, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine confirmed that the agency is speaking to several international companies about taking over the operation of the ISS. The Trump administration previously stated it wants to cut funding of the Space Station by 2025, which would pave the way to privatization.
"We're in a position now where there are people out there that can do commercial management of the International Space Station," said Bridenstine. "I've talked to many large corporations that are interested in getting involved in that through a consortium, if you will."
Before funding to the International Space Station runs out, Bridenstine said that he is working on a transition plan for a private company to take it over and run it as a commercial space laboratory.
Bridenstine did not reveal which companies he was speaking to because he said that those companies could find it "hard to close the business case."
"We have forced the conversation," he said.
Only two companies are currently building private space stations, Bigelow AeroSpace and NanoRacks.
Boeing hasn't built a private space station yet, but it has worked with NASA, and it is tracking the news.
"Really what we're looking at is all of the entire commercial situation: The needs of both the station and the market," Boeing's ISS spokesman, Steven Siceloff, told CNBC.
The Complications Of Privatizing The International Space Station
Privatizing the International Space Station won't be an easy task. In addition to the United States, other countries, such as Russia, Canada, Japan, and the European Union, participate in the International Space Station.
"It will be very hard to turn ISS into a truly commercial outpost because of the international agreements that the United States is involved in," said Frank Slazer, the vice president of space systems for the Aerospace Industries Association.
The reason the Trump administration wants to privatize the International Space Station is to save money. NASA spends roughly $3 to $4 billion a year on the International Space Station.
Paul Martin, NASA's inspector general, says that privatizing won't save that much money because NASA would still send astronauts and cargo to it, which can be expensive.
"Any assumption that ending direct federal funding frees up $3 to $4 billion beginning in 2025... is wishful thinking," Martin told congress.
