The Trump administration has put together plans that would end the federal funding of the International Space Station and instead turn it into a private, commercially run venture.
An internal NASA document obtained by the Washington Post has revealed the Trump administration intends to turn the ISS "into a kind of orbiting real estate venture run not by the government, but by private industry." Federal funding for the ISS, first launched in 1998, would end by the end of 2024, though, the Trump administration "does not intend to abandon the orbiting laboratory altogether and is working on a transition plan that could turn the station over to the private sector."
The station is currently contracted to Boeing and costs roughly between $3 and $4 billion annually to run, but it would not be "deorbited."
"The decision to end direct federal support for the ISS in 2025 does not imply that the platform itself will be deorbited at that time — it is possible that industry could continue to operate certain elements or capabilities of the ISS as part of a future commercial platform," the internal document stated, according to the Post. "NASA will expand international and commercial partnerships over the next seven years in order to ensure continued human access to and presence in low Earth orbit."
There is little insight, however, on exactly how its transition into the private sector would work, but the White House said it "will request market analysis and business plans from the commercial sector and solicit plans from commercial industry," the Post reported. The administration will also make a request for $15 million in fiscal year 2019, in order "to enable the development and maturation of commercial entities and capabilities which will ensure that commercial successors to the ISS —potentially including elements of the ISS — are operational when they are needed."
The plans come as Trump has repeatedly undermined NASA since taking office, including appointing the agency with a man unfit to run it, which has been a common occurrence under Trump. The agency, under the leadership of Republican Rep. Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma, has also taken a turn towards increasing privatization, as Salon has previously reported.
With Trump at the helm, the routine feels often monotonous at this point; reduce, if not remove, federal involvement, while ushering in private corporations who operate on profit margins. But these plans represent a serious danger to public institutions.
Shares