A concept presented by NASA March 24 called for the agency to procure a module attached to the ISS that could serve as the core of a commercial station. Credit: NASA
WASHINGTON — NASA is withdrawing a proposal to revamp its strategy for transitioning from the International Space Station to commercial stations, one that had been sharply criticized by the companies developing such stations.
In a June 1 statement, NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens said the agency was effectively abandoning a proposal to develop a new “core module” for the ISS that commercial modules could attach to.
NASA floated the proposal at its Ignition event in March, arguing that the market for commercial space stations had not developed as NASA had anticipated. The government-owned core module, the agency argued, could provide a bridge to standalone commercial stations.
“Though we have seen investor interest, there’s no independently verifiable market research indicating the economic viability of a commercial station that is only partially funded by NASA,” Dana Weigel, NASA ISS program manager, said at Ignition.
