{"id":18638,"date":"2018-02-12T19:07:11","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T11:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/commercial-space-ventures-hail-nasa-opportunities-in-orbit-and-on-the-moon\/"},"modified":"2018-02-12T19:07:11","modified_gmt":"2018-02-12T11:07:11","slug":"commercial-space-ventures-hail-nasa-opportunities-in-orbit-and-on-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/commercial-space-ventures-hail-nasa-opportunities-in-orbit-and-on-the-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"Commercial space ventures hail NASA opportunities in orbit and on the moon"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Astrobotic's
An artist\u2019s conception shows Astrobotic\u2019s Peregrine lander on the lunar surface. (Astrobotic Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Trump administration\u2019s proposed shift to commercial partners for space operations in low Earth orbit as well as on and around the moon is getting a predictably positive reception from those potential partners.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis moment here, with the shift to the moon, is what we\u2019ve waited 10 years for,\u201d John Thornton, CEO of Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic, told Geekwire. Astrobotic has been working on a series of private-sector lunar landing missions and is now looking forward to heightened interest from NASA.<\/p>\n

Over the next few years, hundreds of millions of dollars would be set aside for private-sector moon missions and for commercial ventures in low Earth orbit \u2014 either by putting private ventures in charge of the U.S. segment of the International Space Station, or by establishing new orbital platforms.<\/p>\n

Not everyone is thrilled by the budget proposal, in part because it calls for phasing out federal funding for the space station by 2025. The critics include leading members of Congress who will have to fine-tune and approve the budget proposed today.<\/p>\n

Today Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said abandoning the space station would be a \u201cnon-starter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTurning off the lights and walking away from our sole outpost in space at a time when we\u2019re pushing the frontiers of exploration makes no sense,\u201d Nelson said in a tweet.<\/p>\n

But Robert Bigelow, the billionaire founder of Nevada-based Bigelow Aerospace, said the shift toward commercialization is \u201cEarth-shattering news.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBigelow Aerospace applauds the focus on commercial partnerships for low Earth orbit and lunar exploration, and stands ready to partner with NASA and others \u2014 in new and exciting ways that we will announce in the near future,\u201d he said in a tweeted statement.<\/p>\n

Space station ventures<\/h4>\n

Bigelow already has a test module on the space station, and has proposed sending up even bigger expandable habitats for use in Earth orbit and lunar orbit.<\/p>\n

Two other private ventures, Axiom Space and NanoRacks, have their own plans for orbital space platforms. Axiom Space would consider incorporating some elements of the International Space Station into its own commercial station if they became available sometime after 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would continue on the work that was already begun on the ISS without throwing it all away,\u201d Axiom Space CEO Michael Suffredini told CNBC. \u201cOtherwise entities would need to build new hardware and get it to orbit all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n

NanoRacks is already working with NASA to develop a commercial air lock for the space station, with an eye toward moving the hardware to an entirely commercial space station some years into the future. The Texas-based company is also part of NASA\u2019s NextSTEP-2 program to develop space habitat prototypes, along with Bigelow, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and Sierra Nevada Corp.<\/p>\n