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NASA's administrator, Jim Bridenstine, during an interview in his office on June 1. (Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post)
NASA plans to sell seats on the spacecraft that will transport its astronauts to the International Space Station, offering rides to the public while opening another line of revenue while the agency is trying to broaden its appeal.
On several occasions, Russia has transported wealthy people who have paid millions to go into space. And a trio of private companies backed by billionaires is also looking to keep tourists out of the atmosphere. However, with the exception of a few rare exceptions, such as Christa McAuliffe, the teacher killed during the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986, NASA did not allow for Private citizens use its rockets.
"Just like in the early days of storm-storm aviation, these initial activities will help build the infrastructure and foundation that can lead to future innovations that, frankly, we can not imagine at the moment" said Michael Gold, General Counsel for Maxar Technologies, who leads the advisory council's policy reform efforts.
The proposal, backed Friday by a NASA advisory subcommittee, is in its infancy and is part of the agency's efforts to better integrate into public consciousness by working with the private sector.
The proposals should be approved by the entire Advisory Board, then forwarded to NASA's administrator, Jim Bridenstine.
Friday's meeting took place two months after Bridenstine announced he was holding the committee in the hands of the group and was instructing him to see how the agency could better partner with the industry. He said he wanted NASA and its astronauts to be "integrated into American culture."
On Friday, he reiterated the point, saying, "The reality is that we are in a new era now."
[[[[The companies of the cosmos: explore the new race in space]
In addition to the sale of seats, the space agency is considering the possibility of using its logo for commercial purposes and to allow its astronauts to appear in advertisements that would strengthen the brand of the agency.
This decision comes as the White House seeks to end direct funding for the International Space Station by 2025 and to put the laboratory in orbit with a commercial entity. This plan provoked strong resistance from the Congress and questions about how it would be implemented and financed.
But selling seats could be a small step forward to achieve this goal. NASA could charge millions of dollars for travel aboard the Boeing and SpaceX spacecraft to fly the crews to the space station. The revenue generated from these sales would be used to help the agency "facilitate the commercialization of low Earth orbit space platforms," as worded by the advisory group.
The group is also exploring how the agency could relax some of the rules that prohibit NASA from endorsing particular products or services. He had mentioned the possibility of selling the naming rights of his rockets. Although Bridenstine said it would be a "heavy burden", on Friday the committee approved wording recommending "space-based promotional activities" that "could improve NASA's public profile and encourage young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics ".
She also took a step forward so that her logo is used more often. Today, NASA does not display its logo on the rockets that carry goods to the space station, nor its scientific experiments in space, lest this be perceived as support from the rocket company.
"There was a presumption of no," said Gold.
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