---
title: "NASA Has a Plan to Encourage Private Space Stations"
description: "As the International Space Station approaches its inevitable retiring, NASA is encouraging private companies to build their own."
date: "2019-10-10"
modified: "2019-10-10"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-encourage-private-space-stations"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "NASA"
  - "space"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA Has a Plan to Encourage Private Space Stations

![As the International Space Station approaches its inevitable retiring, NASA is encouraging private companies to build their own.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/nasa-encourage-private-space-stations.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Bigelow Aerospace\</em\>*

## Space Business

NASA is encouraging private companies to develop their own space stations — and it has a fat wad of cash to invest in promising ideas.

The space agency hopes to spur increased development in the space industry, both to assist and improve [current operations](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/new-docking-port-international-space-station>) and to launch new standalone projects, [according to *Space.com*](<https://www.space.com/nasa-commercial-space-stations.html>). NASA has about $561 million set aside to invest in these private space stations, which could help the agency continue to conduct research after the International Space Station is inevitably retired.

## Revitalize The Neighborhood

By encouraging private companies to develop their own space stations, NASA is indirectly securing its own future, *Space.com* reports. The International Space Station is getting old, and instead of building a new one, NASA could instead [reward private companies](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-moon-base-spacex>) with government contracts in exchange for space to conduct research.

"Somebody's got to come up with a business case that helps people understand that there is value in going into low Earth orbit," said former NASA administrator Charles Bolden. "The government spent a lot of money allowing the private sector to go use this test facility so that they could step off and go make money."

**READ MORE:** [NASA Wants to Encourage Private Space Stations](<https://www.space.com/nasa-commercial-space-stations.html>) \[*Space.com*\]

**More on space privatization:** *[NASA Is Officially Opening The Space Station to Tourists](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-iss-space-station-tourists>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)