If you've always dreamed of a home sweet home with character and wide open spaces, it's time to prepare your checkbook. NASA has officially announced the sale of the International Space Station (ISS). Breathtaking view of the Earth!
At a press conference on August 18, William Hill, NASA's Exploration Programs Manager, was very clear about the agency's strategy: "We are committed to the development of a new space program that is both safe and secure.Our desire is to hand over the ISS either to a commercial entity or to another type of private structure, so that research in low orbit can continue..” Timing wise, the divestiture should take place sometime in 2020.
NASA did not specify whether there was already a buyer for the International Space Station. But two companies might be interested. A new docking dock is installed on the ISS for missions managed by Boeing and SpaceX. These companies will send their personnel to the ISS as early as 2017.
SpaceX already manages procurement missions for NASA and the ISS since 2012. SpaceX is more interested in going to Mars rather than building commercial space stations, but it remains an interesting candidate. Boeing would be a better candidate because it is less present in the space race and the International Space Station could help it develop in this area.
Until then, no doubt other private space transportation companies, such as Virgin Galactic or Blue Origin, will master manned space travel to provide orbital taxi service at lower cost. It now remains to be seen what form private sector participation in the management of the station will take, how the other nations involved will manage coexistence and, most importantly, which company will be interested. Finally, on the question of price, the secret remains. It's up to you to make an offer!
Source : Techcrunch
