Will Axiom Space provide a commercial space station to replace NASA’s ISS?

Axiom Space has announced the creation of an office park and manufacturing center at the Houston SpacePort at Ellington Field.

The development is a sign of hope that, despite the efforts of Congress, a commercial replacement of the International Space Station (ISS) may well occur. The United States has a chance to avoid “space space” when the ISS reaches the end of its operational life, such as that which occurred between the end of the space shuttle program and the first launch of the mission. SpaceX Commercial Crew Dragon.

When Jim bridenstineJames (Jim) Frederick Bridenstine NASA-Canada deal demonstrates how Artemis is an international moonshot NASA selects next Artemis moonwalkers as SpaceX flies a Starship First to cross the sound barrier, Chuck Yeager dies at 97 years PLUS Having become a NASA administrator, one of the questions he faced was what to do to maintain a presence in low earth orbit after the ISS. The idea that he and the NASA experts have come up with is to encourage private companies to build their own space stations. NASA would provide the necessary support by committing to become a primary tenant for such in-orbit facilities. However, commercial space stations are also expected to find private customers.

The problem is, Congress has been remarkably stingy when it comes to putting real money into this approach. The FY2020 budget request included $ 150 million for commercial space stations. Congress funded support for private orbital laboratories for a total of $ 15 million. The FY20 budget request repeated the request for $ 150 million. Congress chose to be slightly more generous: $ 17 million.

It’s not that Congress is opposed to maintaining a human presence in low earth orbit. Indeed, as Space.com reports, the Senate version of the NASA authorization bill extends the operational life of the ISS until 2030. Given the flow of scientific and technological discoveries that have stemmed from the orbiting laboratory, it’s not hard to see why. Early critics of the ISS, including the late James Van Allen, have been completely discredited.

Congress does not seem to have any urgency to plan for a post-ISS future. The year 2030 is almost 10 years away. Elected politicians are doing what they do best, kicking the road.

In the meantime, NASA is doing what it can, given the resources allocated, to help revive a commercial space station industry. An inflatable module called BEAM, courtesy of Bigelow Aerospace, has been attached to the ISS for three years. Unfortunately, a number of factors, not the least of which is the coronavirus pandemic, forced Bigelow to lay off its entire workforce. Bigelow is now seeking funding from NASA for a free-flight space station created with its inflatable modules, ironically using technology developed by a space agency called TransHab.

Axiom Space has won the green light to attach one of its own modules to the ISS. Not waiting for Congress to spit money for NASA, Axiom announced a space station module manufacturing facility at the Ellington SpacePort in Houston. The company will also have private astronaut training facilities.

In addition to employing 1,000 people, the new Axiom facility represents a commitment to creating a commercial space station industry. Whether a company is willing to invest the money to build the parts for a private space station should have an effect on other stakeholders. Axiom should be able to attract commercial customers willing to pay for time spent in an orbiting research lab.

The positioning of the Axiom plant in Texas is no coincidence either. The Texas congressional delegation, for obvious reasons, supported NASA and, increasingly, the commercial space industry which has expanded its presence in the Lone Star State in recent years. Good old-fashioned policies that push MPs and Senators to favor funding for projects that mean jobs in their states will combine with strong space policy to help increase funding in the years to come.

It’s also probably not an accident that the Axiom facility is about a five-hour drive from the growing SpaceX spaceport in Boca Chica, near the southern tip of Texas. Undoubtedly CEO of SpaceX Elon muskElon Reeve MuskWorld’s Richest People Added 0.8T to Combined Wealth in 2020 Trump Ends Obama’s 12-Year Run as Most Admired Man: Gallup Apple CEO Ignored meeting request to discuss Tesla sale, says Musk MORE would be happy to launch finite modules into space, using the mighty Starship rocket, then crews and cargo.

In the midst of a pandemic, part of a space future is taking shape in South Texas. This time it is driven by the private sector. NASA had better jump on board or risk being left behind.

Mark Whittington, who writes frequently on space and politics, published a political study on space exploration titled Why Is It So Hard To Get Back To The Moon? as well as “The Moon, Mars and beyond”. He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner. It is published in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Hill, USA Today, the LA Times, and the Washington Post, among others.