{"id":17868,"date":"2019-11-27T22:10:57","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T14:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasas-in-the-market-for-quick-taxi-rides-to-and-from-international-space-station\/"},"modified":"2019-11-27T22:10:57","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T14:10:57","slug":"nasas-in-the-market-for-quick-taxi-rides-to-and-from-international-space-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasas-in-the-market-for-quick-taxi-rides-to-and-from-international-space-station\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s in the market for quick taxi rides to and from International Space Station"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Starliner
An artist\u2019s conception shows a Boeing Starliner space taxi approaching the International Space Station. (Boeing Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA already has committed billions of dollars to procuring regularly scheduled rides to and from the International Space Station from commercial space taxi operators \u2014 but now it says it\u2019s interested in buying short-term trips as well.<\/p>\n

The proposed arrangement, detailed on Tuesday, is aimed at giving a boost to the commercialization of space operations in low Earth orbit, as well as to NASA\u2019s drive to send astronauts to the moon by 2024. It also makes the line dividing government-funded and privately funded space efforts even fuzzier.<\/p>\n

SpaceX and Boeing are both building spacecraft to serve as taxis to the space station: Boeing\u2019s CST-100 Starliner is due to go through an uncrewed test flight to the orbital outpost next month, and SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon is slated for an in-flight test of its launch abort system sometime in the next month or so.<\/p>\n

Both space taxis are expected to carry crew starting early next year, assuming that they win NASA\u2019s clearance.<\/p>\n

Once the spacecraft are certified, NASA will execute contracts for a series of regular flights to and from the space station, to support crew rotations every six months or so. SpaceX and Boeing also have the option of selling extra seats on those flights to private customers.<\/p>\n

In addition, NASA\u2019s commercialization plan would let those companies plan up to two extra missions per year to the space station, for stays lasting as long as 30 days. The privately funded astronauts would have to pay a multimillion-dollar fare to the taxi operator \u2014 plus a reimbursement to NASA for space station expenses, estimated at $35,000 a day.<\/p>\n

The newly issued pre-solicitation notice focuses on the extra, privately organized missions: NASA says it\u2019d be interested in buying one of the seats on that kind of mission, in order to further its research goals for future trips to the moon and Mars.<\/p>\n

\u201cNASA has identified a requirement to use missions of varying length on which it collects standard data to establish profiles of human physiological, behavioral, and psychological variables of importance for ensuring astronaut health and performance during future long-duration deep space missions,\u201d the space agency explained in a news release. \u201cPrivate astronaut mission opportunities NASA identified as part of its low-Earth orbit economy plan are up to 30 days, within the time frame necessary to perform research and collect critical data to build a comprehensive human spaceflight physiological profile.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s announcement merely serves to give notice that NASA is interested in the idea. It\u2019s up to the organizers of future private-astronaut missions to let NASA know what they\u2019re scheduling, and whether they\u2019re willing to meet NASA\u2019s requirements \u2014 for example, a four-person limit on space taxi occupancy.<\/p>\n

Right now, Boeing and SpaceX are focusing on getting their taxis up and running for the missions that are dedicated to NASA\u2019s space station crew rotations, so it could be a year or more before they schedule the extra missions they\u2019re entitled to offer.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the idea sparked a lively discussion today when it was mentioned on Twitter by NASA\u2019s Doug Comstock, who\u2019s acting as a liaison for commercial crew activities in low Earth orbit:<\/p>\n