NASA unveils a plan to allow private companies to make use of the International Space Station. - NBCNewsMACH
, which has been orbiting Earth for two decades. “Think about how this space station that we put together to do research, education and outreach is now going to be used to put together a business model,” he said. “How could we ever imagine that this space station would have any role, when it was originally designed, in developing new business markets.”
Opening the station to commercial ventures will enable the space agency to focus its resources on returning astronauts to the moon and a subsequent mission to Mars. “NASA by its very nature is an exploration agency,” Gerstenmaier said. Robyn Gatens, deputy director of the space station program at NASA headquarters in Washington, said the first commercial flights to the station could begin in 2020.
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