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NASA concept of a proposed Core Module that would become the hub of a new post-ISS outpost.
An industry advocacy organization told Congress its members were “concerned and confused” by the latest pivot in NASA’s plans to ensure continuation of its microgravity research programs in low Earth orbit following the retirement of the International Space Station (ISS.)
The comments by Commercial Space Federation President Dave Cavossa before the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee on March 25 followed the March 24 announcement that NASA was not only once again delaying release of a solicitation for Commercial LEO Development (CLD) partners, but also considering buying its own module rather than relying on industry for an ISS-replacement.
The NASA-owned and operated core module would be attached to the ISS and include docking ports for two commercially provided modules that could form the hub of a free-flying station to follow the ISS.
Cavossa, however, disputed NASA’s determination that the commercial market was not mature enough to support a privately owned and operated station, with NASA as an anchor tenant. The ISS, now 25 years old, is expected to be decommissioned and deorbited in 2030.
For the last 10 years, NASA has been working with commercial companies to develop space stations that could be ready to replace the ISS. Initial funding went to Bigelow Aerospace; Boeing; Lockheed Martin; Nanoracks, which is now part of Voyager Technologies; Orbital ATK, which is now part of Northrop Grumman; and Sierra Nevada.
In fiscal 2020, NASA requested $150 million for the CLD program, and received $15 million. The following year, it requested $150 million and received $17 million. Regardless, the agency awarded a contract to Houston-based Axiom Space to support development of a privately owned station that would start off as an attachment to the ISS and then transition into a free-flyer prior to the ISS’s retirement.
Congress warmed to the CLD concept in fiscal 2022 and allocated $101 million for the program. NASA selected three teams in December 2021 for funded Space Act Agreements, with the goal of introducing competition into the program. Blue Origin and its primary partner, Sierra Space, bid Orbital Reef. Nanoracks pitched Starlab, which is now a joint venture owned by Voyager and Europe’s Airbus, and Northrop paired with Dynetics in a program built around Northrop’s Cygnus spacecraft. That initiative folded in 2023, with Northrop joining the Starlab Space team. CLD funding totaled $224 million in 2023, $228 million in 2024, $170 million in 2025, and $272 million for fiscal 2026.
NASA also signed unfunded Space Act Agreements with seven more companies, three of which—including startup Vast—are working on commercial space habitats.
For the next phase of the program, NASA planned to award Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)-based, fixed-price contracts covering certification of at least one commercial space station capable of being continuously occupied by four-member crews. A draft request for proposals was expected last summer.
However, the agency outlined a new acquisition strategy on Aug. 4 that postponed certification and scaled back CLD capabilities to support month-long crewed sorties, rather than continuous occupation. NASA also said it would switch the CLD Phase 2 funding from FAR-based, fixed-price contracts to another round of funded Space Act Agreements that include a three-year base period with optional milestones up to five years. Payments would be based on the milestones, which included an in-space crewed demonstration.
On March 24, NASA changed course again, proposing the government-owned core module as an add-on to the ISS, with docking ports for additional visiting vehicles and commercial habitats and labs that could become part of a free-flying station.
“A robust low-Earth-orbit economy does not yet exist,” Joel Montalbano, acting NASA associate administrator for space operations, told legislators.
Cavossa disputed that claim, pointing out that federation members working on NASA-backed CLD programs had raised more than $1 billion in private capital in the last six months and several billion dollars over the last several years.
“Yesterday, NASA announced it is considering yet another major change to the Commercial LEO Destinations program, sewing concern and confusion among the commercial space companies I represent,” Cavossa said.
At NASA and Congressional direction, the prospective commercial station operators have secured “numerous commercial customers so that NASA would be one of many customers, not the only customer,” he added.
“My companies have recently shared that they are already sold out of commercial rack space on their future stations. The commercial market is there,” Cavossa said. “NASA is a key piece of that commercial market, but they’re not the only customer.”
“NASA’s stated rationales for changes to the program are flawed,” he added. “In short, NASA’s shifting timeline and demand signals are having ripple effects across both industry and our investment community, each of which is essential to fielding commercial space stations that will enable NASA to continue its mission after the ISS.”
During a series of briefings to industry March 24-25, NASA acknowledged it does not have the budget for either of the post-ISS succession plans. The agency is asking industry for feedback on its CLD acquisition strategy, with responses due April 8.
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