NASA is considering how it can commercialise International Space Station (ISS) to boost its budget. The US space agency is developing a commercial-use policy for the ISS in order to start experimenting with a wider set of market possibilities. The move comes after the White House's 2019 federal budget request removed direct funding for the ISS in 2025 and allocated $150m towards encouraging development of new commercial capabilities for the private sector and NASA. In an interview with SpaceNews, Jim Bridenstine, NASA's acting administrator, said that he was "encouraged" by recent comments from President Donald Trump about his desire to return astronauts to the ISS.
NASA is considering how it can commercialise International Space Station (ISS) to boost its budget. The US space agency is developing a commercial-use policy for the ISS in order to start experimenting with a wider set of market possibilities. The move comes after the White House's 2019 federal budget request removed direct funding for the ISS in 2025 and allocated $150m towards encouraging development of new commercial capabilities for the private sector and NASA. The budget request still needs to pass both houses of Congress.