Washington, Dec. 2 (BNA): NASA has commissioned three companies to develop designs for new commercial space stations, German news agency DPA reported.
Among them, Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, will receive $130 million. NASA announced Thursday that NanoRacks of Texas will receive 160 million dollars and Northrop Grumman, Virginia, 125.6 million dollars.
NASA said it seeks to transition from the International Space Station (ISS) to other platforms and thus maintain an “uninterrupted American presence in low Earth orbit.”
“With commercial companies now providing transportation to low Earth orbit, we are partnering with American companies to develop space destinations where people can visit, live and work, enabling NASA to continue to carve out a path in space for the benefit of humanity while boosting commercial activity,” said NASA President Bill Nelson. in the space”.
Blue Origin announced several weeks ago that it was working on its own space station, called Orbital Reef, with partners including Boeing.
The largest and longest operating space station to date is the International Space Station (ISS), which is operated by NASA and partner agencies from around the world.
It has been continuously inhabited by astronauts since 2000.
No final decision has been made on when the International Space Station will end operations.
The station, now 23, has recently been plagued by problems, such as fires and concerns about air leaks.
Talks are currently underway to extend the operational life of the station beyond 2024.
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