US plans to privatize ISS after 2024

An internal NASA document, which is in the hands of The Washington Post, shows that the US is considering transferring management of the ISS, or parts of it, to companies after 2024. Earlier it appeared that the US government wants to stop financing the space station after 2024.

The newspaper writes that the government is working on a transition plan to transfer management. The document reads: “The decision to withdraw federal support for the ISS in 2025 does not imply that the station will then be taken out of orbit. Industry may manage certain elements or functions of the ISS as part of an commercial platform.” That’s why NASA plans to expand international and commercial collaborations over the next seven years “to ensure continued human access and presence in low-earth orbit,” the document reads.

For fiscal year 2019, the government wants to allocate $150 million to ensure that the station can transition to “commercial successors.” The document does not state what those successors should do with the station and which parties qualify as successors. Details about the privatization process are also not to be found. It just says that the White House will request a market analysis and business plan from the commercial sector.

At the end of January, The Verge received a document showing that the US government is considering withdrawing funding for the International Space Station after 2024. An official budget proposal containing the plans is expected to be submitted on Monday.

NASA spends about $3 to $4 billion each year on the ISS. Since 1993, the US government has spent approximately $87 billion on the International Space Station. Thanks to a budget allocated in 2014 by then-President Obama, the ISS can count on American funding until at least 2024.